


Delicate (Jasper Whitlock-Hale)

by MacieWolf00



Category: Twilight (Movies), Twilight Series - All Media Types, Twilight Series - Stephenie Meyer
Genre: F/M, Vampires, Werewolves
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-05
Updated: 2019-01-29
Packaged: 2019-10-05 02:19:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 28,997
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17316227
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MacieWolf00/pseuds/MacieWolf00
Summary: It was planned. I'm still not sure why they chose my family, I blame it on our blood and who we are - or were. I was only 14 when they broke in, killing my parents and my sister as I escaped, leaving me on the run for the rest of my life, too scared that they would find me if I stopped running. Eventually I found my reason to stop running, in the most unlikely of people, surrounded by people who accept me and have reminded me of what it feels like to have a family again.





	1. Playlist and Character Abilities

Playlist:  
Delicate - Taylor Swift  
Can't Let Go – Faydee  
Kryptonie – 3 Doors Down  
Monster In Me - Little Mix  
What Ifs – Lauren Alaina  
The Voice Within - Christina Aguilera  
More Than Words - Little Mix  
I Know Places - Taylor Swift  
Just A Kiss - Lady Antebellum  
River - Bishop Briggs  
Don't You Wanna Stay - Kelly Clarkson  
8TEEN - Khalid  
Still Into You - Paramore  
Do It Like A Dude - Jessie J  
How You Remind Me – Nickleback  
All I’ve Ever Needed – Paul McDonald & Nikki Reed

Pack abilities:  
Laela - Quietest of the pack and best sense of smell.  
Leah - Quickest of the pack.  
Jared - Best sight in the pack.  
Jacob - Strongest of the pack.  
Seth - Best hearing of the pack.  
Carlisle - Compassion  
Esme - Ability to love  
Rosalie - Beauty  
Emmett - Strongest  
Alice - Can see the future  
Jasper - Ability to control emotions  
Edward - Mind reading  
Bella - Mental shield   
Renesmee - Ability to show her thoughts, even through shields.


	2. Prologue

The cracking and popping of my whole body blocked my hearing from my dad who was desperately trying to tell me to breathe through the pain. I couldn't figure out how to, though. The pain was unbearable. How was he expecting me to stop screaming long enough to breathe? Eventually it all stopped, but it wasn't like I was before, everything about my senses was different and changed - heightened to a new level I didn't know existed. I froze as I saw my father below me, causing me to wonder how that was. He was always a good foot taller than me, me being the smallest in my family.  
"Calm down, Laela, this is who you are and you will be okay." He told me calmly, as if he had seen this exact scene play out multiple times before. I could still feel myself trembling in fear as he spoke and coached me through how to change back to a human.  
That was back when we were still a family and I wasn't the only piece still standing.  
Over the next two years, I learned to embrace who I was, loving the magic that runs through my veins. I still do, but it's harder.   
It was a beautiful night, but it was too peaceful and it had left me feeling uncomfortable the whole time. My parents said it was just because of upcoming exams but I could tell by the look in my father's and mother's exchanged glances that my feeling was justified, they felt it, too.  
I was right.  
I hate that I was right.  
The two red eyed men ran into our house without warning, my parents doing everything they could to fend them off, but it wasn't enough. My sister was still a causality that night, too. I didn't even realize I had phased until I was already running. I didn't stop.  
I hardly ever stop anymore, I've lost track of how many state borders I've crossed, and been into Canada so much I'll eventually earn a badge as an honorary citizen. Crossing into Washington this time, though, I had a strong and comfortable feeling that I would be okay here.


	3. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I usually italicize the wolves' thoughts but couldn't figure out how to do that here, so they're in quotation marks, and I'm sorry if that's confusing to anyone.

Washington was a great state, and usually I headed straight to Seattle while I was there, but something told me not to stop. Instead, I kept running through the woods that seemed to take over the state. It's the reason I loved Washington so much, I was easily hidden and didn't have to worry about people seeing me.  
The days went by and I continued following my gut on where to go, unsure of why I wasn't settling with Seattle as I typically did, but trusting my instinct. Slowing down to a walk, the wind blew and I caught the scent of another shapeshifter and immediately was defensive. My lips curled over my teeth, exposing them all as I growled out, carefully looking around until my eyes landed on the other one.

'Who are you and why are you here? This isn't your territory.' The deep voice bellowed around in my head.

'My name is Laela, I don't have a pack and was just looking for someone or something that lead me here. I didn't realize the territory was claimed.' I replied, standing up straight and dropping my snarl.

'You're alone? With no pack?'

'Yes, I was the lone survivor of an attack.' I don't know why I told him this, I could've said I was separated from my pack or just followed to close to city lines and apologized and left but I didn't.

'My name is Sam, I'm the leader of the Uley Pack on the Quilette reservation. How would you like to meet the rest of my pack? Wolves aren't meant to travel alone.' He offered, causing me to perk my ears up in surprise, stuttering a bit before finally accepting his offer.

I followed him. I don't know why I followed him, but I followed the giant black wolf through the woods until we reached the edge and he phased back into his human form. "You can phase, too. I promise you'll be safe here, the only thing you'll have to worry about is Seth, but that's because he's easily over excited."

I did as told, not wanting to piss of the alpha who was offering me a place in his pack. I could finally have a home. A real home with people who I could grow to look at as family. He held out a hand for me to shake,

"Thank you, for taking a chance on me. For all you know I wasn't alone and you still opened your home to me." I said after we were both dressed.

"It was easy to tell you were alone and weren't lying, your pack would've came to your side when you noticed me." He pointed out, and I couldn't deny it. Sam was right. It ran in the loyalty of our blood, we wouldn't leave our own when another pack was close. He asked me about why I was alone, and I told him my story about how the red eyed men killed my family and how I was running from them ever since.

"I'm sorry to hear that, your secret is safe with me." He reassured before guiding me to a small house, where a woman waked out, I hated myself for it being the first thing I noticed, but the giant claw marks going down her face were her most noticeable feature.

"Hi, baby. Who’s this?” She asked Sam, her eyebrows furrowing together in confusion as she looked between him and I.

“This is Laela. She’s the wolf the boys and I could tell was running around in the woods. She’s all alone so I did as previously discussed with the boys and l asked her if she’d like to join the pack.” He told her,

"Well, my name is Emily, it's a pleasure to meet you and I hope he didn't scare you when he first found you. He doesn't realize how intimidating he can be to the people who don't know him." She said, a bright smile on her face that easily made me feel more welcome and easy. I offered her a small smile,

"Thank you, my name is Laela and I'm not sure how I can repay you for accepting me so quickly." I said, beginning to warm up to the two of them already.

"Don't worry about it, we're used to feeding the whole pack so one more mouth won't hurt anything at all. We've even got a spare room for you if you would like until we can find you someplace of your own." I can only assume the shock wasn't as hidden on my face as I had hoped, because they both let out a little bit of laughter before guiding me inside to a kitchen, where three shirtless boys sat around a table,

"Damn Sam, you told us you were going out to find out who was walking our woods, we thought it was wolf, not a fox." One of them said, earning him a slap on the head from Emily.

"Shut up Quil and leave the poor girl alone. She just got here." She said, looking back at me and rolling her eyes, "You'll have to excuse them. They don't have any house training apparently."

I couldn't help but laugh at their playful banter and started feeling even more comfortable around them, "Don't worry about it. It's been two years since I've really spoken to anyone and even I know how lame that line was." I fired back, earning a little bit of laughter from the other two guys sitting at the table.

"Damn, Quil, she just met you and already isn't putting up with it. Step up your game man."

"Shut up, Jared, It's not like you've said anything to her at all." Quil fired back.

"Technically you didn't say it to her either, you said it about her." The final one who's name hadn't slipped out yet said. He looked over to me, finally speaking to me instead of about me, "I'm Paul Lahote, the only one out these idiots who still knows how to introduce myself."

"The name's Laela Jaime." I said, shaking his outstretched hand and offering him a small smile.

"So, Laela how old are you? Our youngest pack member is Seth who's 15, and Alpha Sam over there is the oldest at 24." Paul asked.

"Well I'm glad to hear I'm not the youngest or the oldest, I'm 18." I replied, earning a fist pump from Quil,

"Hell yeah, finally got another 18-year-old in the pack." He only earned an eyeroll from Jared and a small eyebrow quirk from Sam who had remained quiet most of the time, only now speaking up.

"You got another 18-year-old here and she’ll probably still kick your ass.” Sam said, a smirk on his face as he saw Quil struggle and fail to come up with comeback. He still had an arm wrapped around Emily’s waist, as if he was unable to pull himself away from her.

Eventually the rest of the pack and some of the elders showed up as the day continued into the night and I had to reintroduce myself multiple times that night. I couldn’t help but feel comfortable around the family I had been so easily accepted into. Even the elders seemed to accept me that night, although they were surprised that I was a female wolf and were quick to introduce me to the other woman in the pack, Leah.  
For the first time in two years, I felt like I had a family again.


	4. Chapter 2

Four months had passed since the day Sam had welcomed me into his pack. I was able to finish schooling, even if it was a couple months late, but better late than never. I knew my way around La Push, and we all eventually learned a new routine for guarding the reservation and settled nicely. Sam and Emily made sure I had clothes on my back until I could afford to buy clothes of my own, and I began helping Emily more around the house - since they wouldn’t accept any monetary form of gratitude for what they had done for me.   
Today I was running the morning and afternoon guard through the forest. I had covered for Jacob this afternoon so he could attend Bella’s graduation party with Quil and Embry. Leah nor I were too keen on her, both of us not caring for the way Jake seemed to always be the one hurting over her, and me not trusting the vampires she hung around with; despite not agreeing with where he was going, I didn’t mind covering for him and getting extra time back out in the forest I had spent so long running in.

“You know they’re not the bad ones, right?” Seth asked me after our run.

I looked over at him and shrugged, “I know their eye color says they aren’t, but it’s hard to trust the things that killed your family, whether they’re the actual ones or not.” I told him, not really wanting to get on the topic. Seth nodded,

“I’m not trying to force you to like them, I just don’t want you to be uncomfortable or scared around them.” He tried explaining.

“I know, but it probably won’t happen for a long time after meeting them, if ever.” I said, both of us stopping to stare out at the ocean before we had to turn back to the main part of the reservation.

I tilted my head back, letting the breeze coming off the ocean push my hair back off shoulders. “I understand. I’d probably be the same way if roles were reversed.” I looked over and up at him, nodding as acknowledgement for his understanding. Despite being three years younger than me, he was still taller than me, and none of the pick let me forget it.  
Neither of us got a chance to start a new conversation before we heard a long howl start traveling through the air. We both looked at each other, before turning back to the forest, stripping down once again, and shifting into wolves.

'What do you mean an army is coming?' The first thought we were greeted with as we shifted, both of us looking at each other once again before taking off to meet the rest of the pack. A swarm of angry, confused, and scared thoughts were shouted out before we finally made it to clearing that looked like an old construction site that was long abandoned. Jacob’s sandy colored wolf stepped up next to Paul to explain.

'They’re coming after Bella. Alice had a vision of a whole damn army of newborn vampires passing around one of Bella’s shirts and coming here.' He explained.

'We’ve already accepted their offer to help fight. That many vampires in one small town calls for us to help protect the people.' Quil thought out, Paul staying silent while they explained. A sudden flash of the two red eyed vampires who had killed my own family flashed through my mind and Leah was next to me in a moment, gently rubbing her head against my neck as a sign of comfort which I appreciated. Paul’s voice finally broke through the voice of thoughts still swirling around. 

'It’s our duty to fight and protect the people, so that’s what we’ll do. We’ll join alliances with the Cullens to help stop this bloodbath before it truly begins.'

'They said they would start training tomorrow. Apparently, they’re different from the rest of the vampires we’ve dealt with.' Embry said. 'He didn’t explain how but apparently even we’ll need training.'

'Good. We all need to brush up on our fighting skills especially if this is an army.' Paul agreed.

'Everyone get home, we all need to actually sleep tonight before we go out tomorrow. Meet at 9 tomorrow by the edge of the forest, don’t worry about human forms. I think we’ll all feel better like this.' Sam said, finishing the conversation and walking off, me following behind him to head home. I phased back as soon as I could, wanting to think without the rest of them hearing. Once I was dressed, I walked from behind the tree I had chosen to change behind, and found a shirtless Sam waiting on me.

“Will you be okay tomorrow?” He asked me.

I honestly didn’t know how to answer.

“I don’t know, I haven’t been around any since.” I told him.

“You don’t have to come if you don’t think you can, none of us will blame you for not wanting your first encounter since then to be a fight.” He said as we reached the end of the forest. The sentence was comforting but the same urge I had telling me to come to Forks told me that I needed to at least try going to the training. After a few moments I shook my head in defiance,

“No. We’re wolves and this is what the magic in our blood is for. Defending the helpless and killing vampires is what we do.” I said, remembering the stories my father had told me the first night I shifted. I was going to make him proud one way or another. Sam looked like he had a new respect for me as a half-smile came across his often-stern face, 

“I’m glad to hear you say that, but the offer will still stand for as long as you need it. Your mental health is more important, and we’ll be able to handle it even if you’re not there to help.” He told me. I pushed the door open to his and Emily’s house, actually, all of our house and nodded. 

“Thank you.” I told him, heading upstairs to shower and try and sleep before the next day, and leaving him to explain everything to Emily.


	5. Chapter 3

The next day came faster than was needed. I didn’t sleep the previous night, nightmares of my parent’s and sister’s faces running through my mind and waking me up every time I finally got to sleep. I was exhausted arriving to the meeting place and ignored everyone’s chatter as I tried fighting away the thoughts of the nightmares. A few still managed to slip through and I could tell everyone was concerned. Leah and Paul were beside me in seconds, all of us following Sam, Jacob, and Jared through the forest until we reached the clearing. They didn’t speak, their silent comfort being enough for me, and them just making sure they knew I was there. 

We arrived at the clearing in just a couple minutes, already hearing a couple of them training with each other. Sam, Jacob, and Jared were the first over the hill and greeting them as best they could still in wolf form.

'Laela, stay in the back with Seth.' Jared said, Paul and Leah getting the hint and moving up closer to the front and Seth falling in the back with me.

'Sorry you’re stuck in the back with me.' I told Seth, jokingly. I knew Paul meant nothing by it, he just didn’t want Seth in the fight and for me to be overwhelmed.

'Not your fault. They think I’m too young for any action.' He said, still not sounding too upset by it.

'You are.' Sam, Leah, Quil, and I said all at the same time, none of us liking the idea of him being so young and having to fight. Suddenly a voice broke over the noise of our thoughts.

“They don’t trust us enough to be in their human forms.” One of the vampires spoke, I couldn’t see which one. 

“The important thing is they’re here.” Another spoke. Jacob left the pack and went and stood by Bella’s side, leaving a hole big enough for me to see three of them. There was one blonde woman who could’ve easily been a supermodel, a big, dark haired guy who was covered in dirt, and small brunette woman whose face screamed that she couldn’t even hurt a fly.

But she could, they all could. They were capable of doing everything the red eyes did to my mom, dad, and sister, they were capable of destruction and murder, and their sickeningly sweet smell that filled the field only made their prey seem to enjoy it.

I didn’t even realize that I had drawn all attention to me and started letting little whines rumble through me, a mixture of the nightmares from the previous night and all the bits and pieces I remembered from my family being murdered flashing through my mind and consequently the packs minds, too.  
'Seth, get her out of here, she’s not ready.' Sam said, and Seth started gently trying to nudge me backwards.

“Wait, maybe Jasper can help.” The first one who had spoken said. Only a few seconds later and all of the fear and anxiety pressing down on me seemed to leave and I could breathe again. Sam has a few choice words to say about a vampire messing with my head but otherwise let it go. I tried seeing who it was that had done it, but Quil stepped in front of me, purposefully blocking my view from the rest of the vampires, trying to help me remain calm.

'Why are we here for training? We all know how to fight vampires. What makes newborns so special?' Paul asked. I had been informed of the mind reader in their family and it only made everything that much more unsettling for me, yet I still couldn’t help but feel calm.

“They want to know how the newborns differ from us.” The same one from before had spoken.

“They’re a great deal stronger than us because their own human blood lingers in their tissues. Our kind is never more physically powerful than in our first several months of this life.” The second voice from earlier replied, still not having names or faces to put with the voices.

A third voice that had a slight southern accent spoke to us, “A newborn army doesn’t need thousands like a human army. But no human army can stand against them.” A wave of discomfort went through the pack but washed right over me, whoever Jasper was must’ve still been keeping me calm. “Now the two most important things to remember are; first never let them get their arms around you, they’ll crush you instantly. The second, never go for the obvious kill, they’ll be expecting that and you. Will. Lose.” He continued, causing a slight growl to roll through the pack.

About an hour had gone by, the only thing I was able to see was the flashes of them as any of them were flung into the air. Quil, getting bored, had laid down and given me a little bit of a better view of the fight, as I had given up trying to peak around him and just sat down. I had picked up the names of almost all of them, but the one with a southern accent hadn’t been in a position where I could see him. I also wasn’t sure which one had calmed me down, the only one who’s power I knew was the mind reader, Edward.

Despite none of us needing one, the southerner called for a break, pointing out the flaws that each member of his family made and how each of them could’ve potentially turned deadly.

He turned around to face the pack, starting at Sam and slowly making eye contact with each of the pack,

“I know it’s in your blood to know how to fight vampires, but does everyone understand where they all made mistakes?” He asked, earning a nod from each member of the pack. “Good, because even the slightest slip up could cost you your life.” He said, warning us again. “Now, are we ready... to...” he trailed off as his golden eyes made their way down the line and locked with my own brown ones. 

I rose to my feet as I felt a rush of emotions wash over me, making me feel like I wasn’t even touching the ground that I knew was still located below me. A flash of images of him and I crossed through my mind. The images weren’t the most overwhelming thing, it was the feeling that I had lost everything I’d ever known before and suddenly he was all I knew anymore. He was what kept me here, he was what pulled me towards Forks and why I felt compelled to come to this practice even though I was nervous. The feeling of being held here by him and only him.

I finally came out of the trance, dazed and confused, and starting to panic again as I realized I had no idea what had happened. Another sudden wave of calmness washed over me and this time I knew which vampire it was coming from. All I heard were the voices of all the pack arguing over something called “imprinting” and whether I had or if it was even possible to imprint on a vampire.

'Laela, lay down and stay quiet.' Sam said, and I did as told, lowering myself onto the forest floor. Seth stayed beside me,  
'Don’t worry about it, we’ll talk about it once we’re back in the rezz.' Seth said. I didn’t reply.

“Edward, what’s going on?” Esme asked, looking back and forth between the blonde and me, then to Edward, who stood there with a confused yet amused look on his face.

“It seems as though their newest member of the pack has imprinted on our very own Jasper.” He answered, also giving me a name to finally put with the blond’s face. I let out a low whine, still unsure of what had even happened. All I knew was that I didn’t want to see him hurt and I would do anything to protect him. Jasper was the next to speak,

“Well, let’s continue with the training.” His voice didn’t carry the same tone as before, almost as though he was distracted and didn’t really want to be training right now.

For the rest of the training session he seemed this way, being pinned easily despite not being pinned once before. It wasn’t long before Carlisle called the end of the day, thanking us once again for coming to help. I didn’t get a chance to turn around and speak to Jasper or even have Edward translate something to him as Paul immediately called for all of us to follow him, using the deep alpha voice I’d only heard once before to make sure none of us would try and stay.

I ignored everyone trying to talk to me on the way back; since none of them were explaining what imprinting even was, I had no interest in listening to their questions about how it was possible to imprint on a vampire when I couldn’t answer.


	6. Chapter 4

We all phased back at the edge of the forest before walking out and most of us going separate ways. I stayed behind Sam and followed him back to the house, only speaking once we were through the door.

“What the hell is imprinting?” I asked, slightly annoyed that none of them had told me yet. He turned to face me,

“It’s a normal thing that happens with us shapeshifters. The easiest way I can think of explaining it is it tells you who your soulmate is. Suddenly they’re all that matters. It’s not always a romantic thing, like Quil’s imprint is a two-year-old. He doesn’t think of her in any kind of way besides her protector. You can’t stop yourself from wanting to be their happiness, their protector, and if they ever need it, their lover. Imprinting is an extremely special thing, so special that whoever a werewolf imprints on cannot be harmed, it’s our most sacred law.” He explained.

“Are you and Emily...?” I trailed off and he smiled widely and nodded,

“Yes, I imprinted.” He said, just as she walked through the door. 

“Why are you guys talking about imprinting?” Emily asked, hanging her jacket over the back of a chair. “Which member of the pack imprinted?” She asked, Sam walked over to her, an arm around her waist, unable to answer before she started guessing. “Was it Seth? Or Leah?” 

“No.” Sam said, stopping her before she started naming everyone on the reservation, “It seems we found what was pulling Laela to Forks though.” Emily let out a little gasp and hugged me.

“Who was it?” She asked me, and I was suddenly nervous to tell her. Her smile faltered and she looked between Sam and I, “What? It can’t be that bad if it’s your imprint. Clearly, they’re meant for you and nothing can cha-“

“It’s Jasper.” I suddenly blurted out. “One of the Cullens...” I trailed off.

“Oh.” She said, not sure of how to continue. You could tell she was choosing her words carefully as she spoke, “Well, it’s important to remember that this vampire is clearly meant to be in your life. With the imprinting, he’ll be more than willing to do anything to make you happy even if that means you having to learn to trust him.” Jared had told me about how Sam was the one to scar Emily, and I knew she was speaking from experience about learning to trust your own imprint.

“Emily’s right.” Sam backed her up. “It is something both of you need to talk about soon, or else you’ll both end up hurting yourselves emotionally, but it doesn’t mean you two have to be an item right away.” I nodded,

“It just doesn’t feel morally right. Their kind is the reason I lost my family. Even if it wasn’t the Cullens, I feel like I just imprinted on my family’s murderers.” I explained.

“I’d suggest telling him that, but know that no one on this reservation or your family would judge you for imprinting. It’s out of your control and not your fault. And don’t blame yourself either, you didn’t have a choice in choosing your imprint.” Sam said. I knew why he hadn’t lost his temper, he hadn’t chosen to imprint on Emily and hurt Leah, and he knew a portion of what I was feeling. All I could do was nod,

“I think I’m going to go for a run.” I said, not giving them a chance to respond before I pushed out the door and jumped off the porch, shifting before my feet hit the ground and taking off towards the private area of the beach. It was too dark for anyone to see me, none of us realizing how late we had trained until we had come back and seen the sun setting. I walked down to the water, going deep enough that the cold water came up to my stomach and ribs before dipping my head under the water and coming back up a second later, the water running down my neck. I stepped out of the water a minute later, completely drenched but the freezing water having cleared my head some. I continued walking down the shore line, trying to sort through my thoughts but there was no luck. I knew what I’d have to do in order to truly clear my head and I dreaded the next day when I’d have to do it.  
Suddenly, I wasn’t alone in my thoughts,

'Want to talk about it?' Jacob asked. I was definitely surprised, he and I weren’t enemies, but we had never really had a true conversation before besides when the rest of the pack was also there. 'Don’t be so surprised, we haven’t talked a lot, but it hasn’t been because I don’t like you. You just seemed to go with Seth and Leah more.' He wasn’t wrong.

'Sorry, it’s been a long day.'

'Imprinting on a blood sucker can do that for you.' He said. I’d lost count of how many times Leah and I had questioned how Bella was able to fall for a vampire (irony at its best) and had thrown around the term blood sucker before, but this time it set something off in me and I let out a deep growl.

'Do not call him that.' I snapped at him.

'Fine, fine, I’ll keep it to a minimum around you.' He replied, chuckling at my reaction, not at all truly nervous. 'Seriously though, we all know what happened and how this can’t be easy for you. Do you need to talk about it?'

My response was letting the conversation Sam, Emily, and I had early reply through my mind.

'They’re right, y’know. You can keep beating yourself up over this, or you accept that it’s happened and figure out how you want to deal with it.'

'Being able to ignore it would be the best thing.'

'You’ll only hurt yourself doing that.' He said without a second thought. I knew he was right, and him saying that Sam and Emily were right only helped because I knew he wasn’t just trying to save my feelings.

'How do the rest of them feel about it?' I asked.

'Leah’s not exactly happy her vampire trash talk buddy won’t be more willing to trash talk anymore, and she’s scared you’re going to change on her all of the sudden, but she also understands we don’t have a choice in the matter.'

'I’ll be sure to talk to her. I don’t want to lose her.'

'Good. You should probably head back to Sam and Emily’s. We’ve got a big day tomorrow, especially you.' He said, and you could practically hear the smirk in his voice which only caused me to roll my eyes.

'Yeah, yeah, I’m going back now.' I said, starting to jog back to the house. I didn’t get a reply before I was back on the stairs and shifting back. I walked upstairs, took a quick shower to wash the salt water and dirt off of me before heading to bed. This time I wasn't awoken by nightmares and slept peacefully through the night, blaming it on being so tired from all that had happened that day.


	7. Chapter 5

I didn’t wake up to the sound of an alarm, I woke up on my own. It took me a minute to realize how that was wrong and I rolled over, looking at the time on the clock that blinked 10:18.

“Shit!” I cursed out loud, shooting straight up and ignoring the sound of shredding clothes as I ran out of the door, shifting mid-stride and starting to sprint towards the field we were at yesterday. 

'About time you woke up, Laela.' Jared said, teasingly. 

'Shut up, I’m running fast enough that even Leah could be challenged.' I replied.

'Yeah, right.' She suddenly spoke up. 'We’ll put that to the test on the way back.'

'You’re on.' I said, unable to back down from the challenge. Not even a full minute passed before I was back to my pack in the clearing, sitting down next to Seth and watching as Rosalie and Alice danced around their battlefield.

Today was different, I didn’t need Jasper to help calm me down. I was still nervous around the rest of the Cullens, only really trusting Jasper, but I knew I had a pack beside me if something did happen. Eventually, Alice pinned Rosalie, who looked a fair mixture of irritated and entertained at the same time. Jasper was the next to step out into the clearing,

“Yesterday we focused on the don’t aspect of this. Honestly, there’s not a set list of right things you can do, just wrong things. We’ll automatically have a greater advantage with you wolves on our side.” he said, his gaze landing on me for a couple seconds but it was more than enough to make my heart race, which I’m assuming he was easily able to pick up by the small smile that came across his face, “They don’t know of your existence and they’ll immediately be cut off guard giving us more than enough edge to win this thing.” He continued explaining different techniques that we could use in fighting, most of them not really applying to us who would be in the form of wolves. “No better way than to show you, though.” He said, then called Edward forward, both beginning to fight again.

Jasper stayed in control most of the time, but Edward still had an advantage being able to read his mind and at one point sent Jasper flying back. I immediately was on my feet and having to keep myself from interfering in the fight, Jacob and Paul reminding me that he wasn’t seriously hurt. Edward pinned Jasper down for a split second, laughing at what I’m assuming was my reaction to it all, but it was long enough for Jasper to take advantage of him being distracted, grab his leg, and pin him down. He stood up, looking down at Edward, “One more thing,” he said, walking off while still facing him, “Never turn your back on your enemy.”

It was pretty much a repeat of yesterday, everyone fought everybody else and Jasper pointed out where their weak spots were and helped them fix them. It went by quicker than yesterday though since I was actually able to watch the whole time, none of us even realizing the sun setting behind us until Carlisle once again thanked us for our willingness to train with them.

We all stood back up to walk off again, the nerves of actually having to talk to Jasper about all of this making me rethink it all. Just as I was about to step over the fallen tree to go down the hill, Jasper called out for me,

“Laela, do you think we could talk for a minute?” He asked, moving closer to where I was. I looked over to Sam, asking if I could stay. He gave a small nod to me and I turned back towards Jasper, walking back down the hill to him. I sat down in front of him, waiting on him to speak first. I didn’t exactly have clothes since I shredded mine in the rush out of the door this morning. 

“Jasper, I don’t think you want the first conversation between the two of you to be with her nude.” Edward spoke up, chuckling and guiding Bella back to the car they came in.   
Jasper looked over at him then back to me, quickly apologizing,

“Sorry, I didn’t think about that.” He said, pulling off his hoodie and offering it to me, “I hope that’s enough, it’s all I have right now.” I replied by letting it fall on top of my snout and walking off to behind a couple of bigger trees grouped together and phasing back to a human.

Surprisingly, the hoodie didn’t have the same sickeningly sweet smell that I picked up from the other vampires, instead it smelled like a mixture of cinnamon and pine. It was comforting. I stepped back out from behind the tree, the hoodie covering everything important as I pulled my hair from under the neck of it. I looked around and saw that the rest of the Cullens had left, including Bella and Edward. He spoke before I had the chance to, “That color blue looks good on you.” He complimented, causing a deep blush to rise for my cheeks.

I hated how easily he was able to make my heart race already.

“Thank you. I’m sorry for the whole imprinting thing. I only learned about it after I had done it and we don’t get a choice on who we imprint on apparently.” I told him, looking down, still blushing and trying not to let him see how nervous I was - I knew he could feel it, but I didn’t need him seeing it, too.

“You don’t have to worry about it, but while we’re apologizing for things, I’d like to apologize for yesterday. Uhm, we know you should’ve been the one to officially tell us, but Edward did inform me of why you were so nervous around my family and me.” I winced at the mention of it but shook my head,

“No, don’t worry about it. Seth told me your family aren't like the ones who killed my family and I was just paranoid about the whole thing.” He gently took a finger under my chin, lifting my head up so I was forced to make eye contact with him. The first thing I noticed being this close to him was how he still didn’t smell disgusting. “You smell good, it’s weird.” I blurted out before I could stop myself, “I’m sorry that didn’t come out right, I meant that you don’t smell like the rest of your family and it doesn’t physically give me a headache to be wearing something you wore.” I blabbered.

“No, no, I understand, you actually don’t smell like dog and smell good, too, so I understand what you mean.” He said, laughing a little bit at my comment and dropping his hand from under my chin. 

The next thing I noticed was the scars that covered him, the most prominent one being right over his left eye. I didn’t have a rational explanation for it, but I felt myself becoming angry at whoever had done this to him, knowing the day I met the person would be their last. I couldn’t stop myself from trailing my eyes over his neck that was littered in the marks, too, and then grabbed his arms, not even realizing the drastic temperature difference between the two of us. 

“Who did it?” I growled out, looking up at him. 

He only shook his head and looked down at me, the cross between a smile and grimace on his face.

“It was long before you, Little Wolf.” He started, “I lived in Texas and joined the Confederate Army in 1861, back when I was human. I lied and told the recruiters I was 20, and because of my height, I was able to get away with it despite being just shy of 17. My military career was short lived, but due to the disorganized nature of the Confederate Army, I was able to quickly rise through the ranks and I was soon the youngest major in Texas, not even feeling the need to acknowledge my real age.

“My job was evacuating women and children from the city when the Union reached the harbor. It only took a day to prepare them and I left with the first group of civilians on our way to Houston. That night is one of the few human nights I remember clearly.

“We reached the city after dark and I only stayed long enough to make sure everyone was safe then I left on a new horse to go back and retrieve more women and children. There wasn’t exactly a lot of time to rest.

“I had just left the city when I found this group of three women whom I immediately offered my aid to. I dismounted, and it was only once I was off my horse that I saw that they were, without question, the three most beautiful women I had seen at the time. I remember marveling at how pale their skin was, even the one who had very Mexican features had skin paler than the moon. They were all extremely young looking and I knew I would’ve remembered if they had been members of my party.

“I didn’t realize it at the time, but as they spoke about me right in front of me, they were trying to decide if I was good enough for them to keep around. I had always been good at reading people and how they related to each other and it was very easy to pick out who the leader of the group truly was.

“I remember how they continued discussing my fate right in front of me and how the taller blonde of the group had to drag away one of the other members. I remember that my instincts told me to run and flee while I could, but my judgement overruled, and I battled with myself. I had never been taught to fear women, but to protect and help them. I remember my amazement as I watched the two flit away back to the main part of the city and how I was amazed that they were gone in the blink of an eye. I had never been one to believe in anything supernatural, but these women made me question it.

"'What is your name, soldier?' Maria asked me.

"'Major Jasper Whitlock, ma'am,' I stammered, unable to be impolite to a female, even if she was a ghost.

"'I truly hope you survive, Jasper,' she said in her gentle voice. 'I have a good feeling about you.'

"She took a step closer and inclined her head as if she were going to kiss me. I stood frozen in place, though my instincts were screaming at me to run."  
Jasper paused, finally snapping out of his trance he had entered while telling his story and realizing I was shaking with anger as he implied what happened next to him. It was over a century ago and it still made my blood boil that anyone would try hurting him and succeed. I was still holding his arms in my hands, but he took one out of my gentle grab on them and pushed the hair off my shoulders to reveal more of my face. He could’ve easily just mellowed me out using his gift, but instead he began running his hands through my hair to try and calm me down, watching carefully that I wasn’t frightened at all by his actions. It worked within a couple of minutes and he took it as his sign to carry on with his story.

“Maria prepared me for battle over the next couple of weeks. Our numbers raised from six to twenty and eventually we were ready to return to her hometown. We fought and only lost four in the process. Even the humans on the city were unaware of what happened, an unheard-of thing at the time. We didn’t know I had a gift yet, we just assumed I was a good leader. We didn’t know the reason everything worked out so well was because of my gift and ability to help keep newborns calm.

“Within the first year, the greed from Maria’s first win made it so we covered most of Texas and Northern Mexican. Eventually, the others came from the South to dislodge her.”  
He stopped playing with my hair to brush two fingers along the faint pattern of scars on his arm.

"The fighting was intense. Many began to worry that the Volturi would return. Through many fights, Maria and I were the only ones to survive the first 18 months. We always kept around a dozen newborns ready, disposing of them once they lost their new strength, and my life continued on the pattern of creating and killing newborns for decades.

“Later on, I developed a friendship with one of the very few newborns who remained useful and alive through the first three years. Peter was different that the rest of the newborns, he was, for lack of better word, civilized. He was good at it, but he didn’t enjoy the fight. 

"His full-time job was to babysit the newborns and as a result, he could grow attached. One time when it was time to purge again, Peter was supposed to help me dispose of them. I could tell it was taking a toll on him, but it was nothing compared to the rage he felt when I called forth the newborn. I caught on quickly to who she was to him. Her name was Charlotte and the minute she came into view, his feelings gave him away and he yelled for her to run. They both ran, and I let them.

“Maria was irritated to say the least.

“Maria grew to be scared and malicious of me, wondering why she’d never felt a moments depression, yet I was deteriorating and mentally drained all the time. They were the same feelings I had felt when others had turned against us and I began mentally preparing to have to kill her, until Peter and Charlotte found me. They told me about how they co-existed with others and had never ran into a fight in their five years they had been gone.

“It only took one conversation and I left, following Peter and Charlotte around while I grew used to the feeling of peace in an everyday life. The depression didn’t fade, and it was Peter that noticed that it grew worse after I would hunt. I thought that maybe in the years of slaughter I’d committed that I had lost humanity, yet I still felt remembrance for every human life I took, because I could feel everything they felt as I would kill them.

“You’ve seen and felt how I can control the emotions around myself, but the whole room affects me. For the first century of my life, I lived in nothing but a hateful and thirsty environment that made hate my only true companion. It eased off dramatically when I left Maria, but I still felt every human I hunted fear me and feel their emotions as they realized I was killing them. 

"I didn’t think it was possible, but the depression grew worse and I had to break away from Peter and Charlotte, not able to handle the lifestyle that was bestowed upon me. I thought killing was the only choice and I tried controlling it, but after the way the last century had changed me, self-discipline wasn’t something I was familiar with.”  
I was lost in the story as he told it, wanting to do nothing but hold him and tell him it wasn’t his fault for the way he was taught. He didn’t know any better. His expression changed into a small and peaceful smile when he continued his story.

“It was a rainy day in Philadelphia, making it so I could still walk during the day, a practice I still wasn’t completely comfortable with. I knew standing in the rain would attract unnecessary attention, so I ducked into a small and ill-lit diner, I was thirsty enough that my eyes were darker, and it worried me, but I was also able to blend in a little more easily.

“Alice was there, naturally expecting me, and as soon as I walked into the diner, she was off her barstool and walking over to me. I tensed, ready to attack, only knowing that life. The emotions she emitted were nothing I had ever felt before. Her emotions were pure and full of hope, and after everything I had been through, it was an easy addiction to stay around her. She told her I had kept her waiting a long time and I apologized like a good southern gentleman. I felt hope when I was around her and soon enough, we found Carlisle.

“The look on his face when we showed up and Alice asked which bedroom we could have was one I’ll never forget. He and Esme and the rest of my siblings have shown me a way of life I never imagined possible for our kind and I don’t think there’s a way I could ever really repay them.”

“Nothing like Maria will ever happen to you again.” I said calmly, looking up at him. I hadn’t meant to say it, it was out of my mouth before I could stop it.

“Same goes for you. No vampire will hurt you again.” He told me as quickly and calmly as I said.

I believe him, it wasn’t because he was playing with my emotions, because he wasn’t at this point, I just honestly believed he would do anything to protect me. I looked over back behind the fallen tree again, noticing how much the sun was now hidden. 

“I suppose I should be getting back. They might not like that they can’t hear me and I’m still standing here in a hoodie.” I said, not wanting the time to end already, but knowing that Sam might send a search party out soon if I didn’t get back.

“I suppose so, ma’am. I’d offer to walk you back, but I don’t think I’d get too far.” He said with a chuckle.

“No, probably not. Physically they can’t hurt you, it’s one of our oldest laws that a wolf’s imprint cannot be harmed. But they could back out of the fight.” I tried comforting him a small bit, but he just shook his head.

“I wouldn’t violate the treaty like that. Carlisle has worked too hard for us to remain civil with the wolves for me to mess it up in one night.” He said, earning Carlisle a new bit of respect in my mind that he was willing to try anything to keep his family blended in, including making a pact with their natural born enemy.

“I understand. I’ll see you tomorrow, Jasper.”

“As to you, Laela. Hopefully with the rest of your pack instead of as a late arrival.” He joked, smiling widely, and taking off through the woods. I smiled as he left and pulled his hoodie off, phasing, then picking his hoodie up in my mouth very gently before heading back to Emily and Sam’s.


	8. Chapter 6

“So how did it go last night?” Leah asked me. She and I met halfway on the walk to the woods, both of us knowing we were going to be a little early. I looked over at her and nodded, biting my lip.

“It went really well. We only talked for a little bit, so I can’t say much about it.” I told her, honestly. "We only really got to talk about our pasts before it started getting too late."

“Is it everything everyone goes on about?” She asked.

“I honestly don’t know. I think maybe if it happened with someone here, then I could say yes right now, but there’s still a lot we don’t know about each other. I know genetics will say it won’t matter, but it’s still terrifying considering all.” I answered. “Thank you for asking. I know it hasn’t been easy and even less so with the imprintee being what he is, but I appreciate you trying.” I told her, reaching up and hugging her.

She hugged me back and sighed a bit, “It’s not your choice. You didn’t choose for it to happen. And plus, you’re the only other girl on the rezz that’s a wolf. I need to keep you around for my sanity.” She said, causing both of us to laugh a little bit.

Eventually, the rest of our pack showed up and we were on our way back to the field. I hadn’t brought Jasper’s hoodie back today, not wanting the rest of them to find out about it, meaning hear them tease me about it, and keep embarrassing me the whole practice. A couple minutes passed, and they all were gathered at the field again, Carlisle letting them all know it would be the final day we could really train before the fight the day after tomorrow and that they wouldn’t be doing too much on the training aspect and more of the set-up aspect of it all. I sat at the opposite end of the pack from where I usually sat, making sure I was within a quick distance to get to Jasper. I knew nothing would end up happening to him, but I wanted to be close to him.

They finished the last fight when Jasper was finally satisfied with what he was seeing. He came over to stand in front of me and started telling us more about the fight, most of it being repetitive but making us all feel better that we at least knew something rather than nothing.

“Like I’ve said before, the wolves will provide us with an unexpected advantage. The newborns won’t know what hit them, but of course, if they see you as soon as you walk on the field we're really in trouble. Thanks to Alice we know where the six of us in my will be best hidden. Unfortunately, Alice is unable to see your kind, so just remember, if you can see them, they can see you.” He explained.

'Seth and Laela will be helping Edward protect Bella and sit out the fight.' Sam said, bringing me to my feet and causing both of us to turn around and look at him.

'Why?!' Seth said immediately.

'Like hell I'm sitting out this fight!' I argued, thoughts of Jasper fighting alone crossing my mind and making my fur stand on end.

'Both of you will sit out this fight and that's final. Seth you're too young and Laela there are too many ways you could get distracted in the fight.' He used his Alpha voice neither of us could argue with him if you wanted to, but Seth did come and sit next to Jasper and me.

"Sam is right." Edward spoke up, "Everyone on the field will be able to fight with a clearer mind if they know that they won’t have to protect you two and know that Bella is safer with two wolves protecting her."

Seth felt a little better after hearing this, his thoughts not as upset, but I still didn't like the idea of Jasper being on the field without me there, even though I knew he could protect himself. I didn't have a choice though, what our alpha said, went. I would just have to be okay with listening in on the fight.

Jasper looked at Edward, “What’s going on?” He asked.

“Sam said that Laela and Seth are sitting out the fight and going to be helping protect Bella. Neither are to keen on the idea.”

"Trust me, we can handle some newborns." Emmett said, he was easily the most excited for the fight and convinced they were ready. "None of them will know what hit them."

"As long as we finally take care of that red headed bitch, I’m ready.” Rosalie said, a smirk on her face as she was pulled into Emmett’s side. 

'What do they mean redhead? I thought there was just an army after Bella.' I thought out, looking for an answer from anyone. 

“The army was created after her mate tried killing Bella.” Edward answered me first. “We’re assuming this is her revenge. She’s going to try killing Bella so I have to feel the same   
thing she did.”

'And it’s going to take a whole damn army for it?'

“No, Victoria wants to cause as much damage as she can to everyone here in Forks.” No one had to ask to know what he meant. He was met with a low rumble of growls from our entire pack, not directed towards him, but the danger being brought to the people we were supposed to protect. 

“Plus, she knows she’ll be met with our entire family in order to get to Bella,” Alice spoke up, “and she wants them to kill as many of us off so it’s easier to get to Bella.”

'Nothing will get to her.' Jacob thought out, Edward turning to glance at him.  
'Laela and I will make sure of it.' Seth said, earning a slight nod in agreement from me.

'She’s still human and for as long as she is, she’s ours to protect, too.' I thought to Edward. He offered us a genuine smile and nodded,

“Thank you all for doing this.” He told us, nothing but sincerity in his voice.

'Wait, how will Seth and I know which vampire scent to keep a look out for? We don’t exactly have anything of the army’s to help us.' I asked, still standing next to Jasper, but shifting on my paws a bit as a sign of being uncomfortable, the sudden hole in their plan causing me to panic.

'We might need to familiarize ourselves with the Cullen’s scent so we know when a stranger is coming.' Jared said, looking over at Edward for translation.

“That’s actually not a half bad idea. The more prepared you two are the better.” Edward said, Esme speaking up this time,

“What do they need to do to prepare? We’ll help in any way we can.” She said.

“The whole pack probably needs to do it to keep from confusing us and the newborns in the mix, but Seth and Laela especially, need to familiarize themselves with our scent so they know when we’re coming back up and that it’s not a stranger.”

The family exchanged looks with each other and eventually Carlisle nodded, “Okay, it's not that hard and if it helps, it helps.” He said, and he and his family lined up except for Jasper who stayed by my side and Edward who stayed near Bella.

Sam was at the start, Jacob following behind him, then Jared, and then the rest of the pack following behind them. I was between Quil and Leah and when Quil stepped up to Carlisle, he looked back at me,

'If it’s too much to be this close to them you don’t have to do it, Seth knowing their scents will be good enough to keep the three of you safe.' He said. Seth’s thoughts coming in next,

'Yeah, if you can’t do it it’ll be enough for just me to know, but they aren’t going to hurt you, remember that.' My response was giving a short shake of my head,

'No, I can do it. I know I’m safe with all off you here and none of them will do anything anyway.' I said, following after Quil and approaching Carlisle.

I winced at the harsh, sweet smell coming from him. It was overpowering but, as I moved onto Esme, I could smell the slight difference between them. As I went on through the line, they all smelled way too sweet and like they were dipped in sugar then dipped into a cheap vanilla perfume, yet each of their scents was different somehow. The only one who smelled drastically different was Jasper and I was instantly comforted. It was like I was able to smell past the sugar and vanilla and I was able to smell the same cinnamon and pine that was covered in his hoodie. 

I didn’t move back to the rest of the pack, instead staying by Jasper until the end of practice. By the end, most of us were now itching and ready for the fight, me and Sam excluded from the excitement. Sam was concerned for the safety of the pack and I was concerned for the safety of the pack and Jasper.

Jacob and I stuck around after everyone else had left, Jacob talking to Edward and Bella about a way to get Bella off the field without her scent leading them to where they would be staying the night. I hadn’t left Jasper’s side as he continued to talk to Carlisle about them going hunting that night, Alice telling Carlisle how she was going to talk to Charlie and get Bella to spend the night at their house for the night before they set up camp the next night. It wasn’t until they had left and Bella was being carried away by Jacob to test their theory before I felt comfortable walking away long enough to phase and get dressed.

“Hello, Little Wolf.” Jasper greeted once I walked over to him, his southern accent especially prominent in the sentence. “I was beginning to think you might not talk to me today.” He teased. I just shook my head,

“Sorry about that.” I said, smiling when I heard his nickname for me, “I know there’s no reason, but I still don’t feel comfortable around the rest of your family to not be able to protect myself.” I told him honestly, not feeling a reason to lie and knowing that nothing good would come of it - he would be able to feel I was lying anyway. His response was a nod, 

“I’m sorry to hear you say that. Hopefully, that’ll change with time.” He told me, resting his arm over my shoulders and pulling me in close to him.

“Right now they’re trying to give you your space so as not to overwhelm you.” He explained, “But they’re actually excited to eventually meet you.” That simple sentence was enough to calm my nervousness just a little bit about them.

“Word spread fast on the reservation and a lot of people are curious about you.” I told him, letting him know he wasn’t being a secret kept by me, “It seems as though you’ve been accepted by the ones that have imprinted and knows what it means, which is most of them.”

“Some acceptance from your new family is better than none, Little Wolf.” He told me., smiling down at me. “They could completely hate me so it’s always better than that.”

“Why do you call me that? Little Wolf.” I asked him, the curiosity getting the best of me, my eyebrows furrowed together and looking up at him. He laughed and looked down at me, a playful glint in his eye and his smile was contagious that I couldn’t help but smile back,

“I thought it was obvious. You’re really short, even in wolf form, you’re still the shortest in your pack, shorter than Seth. And then y’know, you’re a wolf.” He explained, and I rolled my eyes, still smiling.

“I should’ve pieced that together.” I said, “Everyone in the pack picks on my height since most wolves grow really tall and I’m still here at 5’2, and I hit seven feet in wolf form where they’re all at least eight feet.”

“I like your size, you fit under my arm perfectly.” A rush of emotions seized me when he said that. The feeling of belonging and of excitement, then a small amount of guilt as I realized I was feeling this about a vampire. Of course, he read them all, his smile faltering in confusion,

“Why do you feel guilty? Got a boyfriend back on the reservation I don’t know about?” He joked, his tone still light but I could tell it was going to bug him.

“No,” I said, shaking my head and chuckling, “As I said before, most of them have imprints so they’re not even looking at me. It’s nothing you need to worry about though, just something I’ve got to work through on my own.” I told him, gently rubbing my thumb across his jaw, feeling the slight bump of one of his scars as I did. I could feel how ice cold his skin was, but it didn’t cause a shiver across my body. A positive side effect of the whole imprint thing I assumed.

Our small and sweet moment was interrupted by Edward who was walking over now. I dropped my hand from Jasper’s face but staying wrapped under his arm. I wasn’t nervous around just one of them at a time, it wasn’t as intimidating as a whole coven of them - especially of the Cullen’s size.

“I can’t hear Jacob’s thoughts anymore.” He said, and Jasper nodded.

“We’ll go see if we can pick up any of Bella’s scent.” He answered Edward, already having talked this through with each other. Edward gave us a nod and Jasper and I both walked the way Jacob and Bella had left. It only took us a few minutes to makes our way back to the clearing, Jacob and Bella already being there.

“Nothing but wolf stench, no Bella.” Jasper said, earning a light slap on the chest from me.

“I could still pick up traces of Bella, but that’s only because I’m not disgusted by Jake’s scent and can actually stand to try and see if he was with someone else. I don’t think you’ll have a problem hiding her from the newborns.” I told him. Bella was sure to thank both Jasper and me before she and Edward left. Jacob was the next to leave but not before reminding me I had other priorities besides Jasper,

“Hey, Laela, don’t hang around too long. Seth, you, and I will all start guarding tomorrow night, so you need sleep while you can get it.” I nodded,

“I won’t stay long. I know Emily probably won’t go to sleep until I’m back anyway.” I reassured him, watching him phase back into a wolf and leave for the night. I turned my attention back to Jasper, feeling his hands drop to my waist as I moved to stand in front of him, one of my hands resting on his arms and the other against his side, “I guess I couldn’t ignore him anyway since it seems you and your family have plans to go hunting tonight.” 

He nodded, “We do, but I won’t be able to see you again until after the fight since we won’t be getting back until the day of. I’d prefer to stay in contact with you during that time, if there’s any way I could get your phone number to make things easier?” He asked me.

“I actually don’t have a phone. Haven’t had a reason to get one since the pack and I can all talk to each other any time we want.” I said, kind of disappointed that I hadn’t thought of getting one since I’d been here. I actually planned on staying around so it seemed it would’ve been a practical purchase. Jasper nodded, looking as disappointed as I felt and I couldn’t tell if it was his disappointment mixed with mine, or if it was because he was genuinely disappointed.

“Well, I suppose that’ll make the reunion that much sweeter, won’t it?” His disappointment turned to a sweet smile and I nodded, agreeing with him.

“I know I’d probably just get in the way, but I don’t like the fact I won’t be able to help at all and Seth and I will most likely be twiddling our thumbs while just watching.” I told him.

“Granted I’m a biased source, but I like the setup. I’ll know you’re safe the whole time and won’t have to worry about anything happening to you.”

“Well I’m trusting you to handle yourself so I don’t have to worry about you.”

“It’ll be an easy win with the rest of your pack helping. I promise.” He tried to comfort me. I just nodded, not knowing what else to say. I heard a long, lone howl and frowned a little bit.

“That’s my cue.” I said, dropping my arms from him and his falling from around me.

“I should probably get going anyway before they leave without me and Emmett takes all of the bears.” I couldn’t help but let a small laugh bubble out, a mental image of the two of them playing tug-of-war with a bear like two kids fighting over the shiny new toy. 

“I’d better get going before another howl breaks through and I get in trouble.” I told him, starting to walk away.

“Hey, Laela, before you leave.” He said, walking back up next to me, “I hate just letting you walk away, but I don’t want to push you, so how about a hug?” He asked me. I didn’t really have to consider it, it just took me a moment to reply because I was taken aback by the way he asked before doing it. I nodded and he wrapped me in a tight hug, my arms wrapping around his neck to pull him close. He pulled away after a short moment, “Have a good night, Little Wolf. I’ll see you in less than 48 hours.”

“See you then.” I replied, smiling as he walked away.


	9. Chapter 7

The next 36 hours passed by painstakingly slow for the pack, but especially Seth and I. We were both sitting out the fight in order to help Edward protect Bell in case someone found them during the fight, and while we were both happy to help, it was bothering the both of us that we wouldn't be with the rest of our pack and bothering me that I wouldn't be there to protect Jasper. 

Seth and I had just been walking around the camp, wearing a path into the still falling snow as we went around in circles, neither of us picking up any sign of vampires that didn't belong. Both of us could hear the exchange between Edward, Bella, and Jacob, then between Jacob and Bella, and, finally, hear his thoughts as he practically screamed that he had finally kissed Bella. It wasn't even a full two minutes after Jacob was hidden away before Seth and I were beside Bella and Edward.

"The newborns just got there." He updated Bella, Seth and I watching through the eyes of our family as we saw the clearing come into view, "The wolves just made their appearance." He said to her.  
I flicked back and forth between everyone in the fight's mind, trying to see where Jasper was. Eventually I was able to spot him and Alice, flawlessly working as a team and taking down newborn after newborn, and I felt a slight bit of relief. Seth started paying more attention to the fight while I went back to patrolling. At the same time, I picked up two new scents, Edward's voice broke over the silence of Seth giving instant replays.

"She's close. I can hear her thoughts. Seth, go." Edward said. I could hear as Bell, Seth, and I's heartbeats all picked up just a little bit. As soon as I saw Seth again, we both backed away further into the woods, staying close enough that we could hear them, but they couldn't see us.

"She knew we weren't there, but she caught my scent. She knew you'd be with me." Edward explained to Bella.

"She found us." Bella said, fearfully.

"She's not alone." Edward said. I couldn't see what was happening but suddenly Edward continued speaking, "Riley, listen to me. Victoria's just using you to distract me, she knows I'll kill you." Bella's heartbeat picked up even more, but Edward continued on, "In fact she'll be glad she doesn't have to deal with you anymore."

"Don't listen to them, Riley. I told you about their mind tricks." An unfamiliar female voice said afterwards, sounding unsteady as though it weren't true.

"I can read her mind, so I know what she thinks of you." Edward said.

"He's lying." The female replied,

"She only created you and this army to avenge her true mate, James. That's the only thing she cares about, not you.”

"There's only you, you know that."

"Think about it, you're from Forks, you know the area. that's the only reason she chose you, she doesn't love you."

"Riley, don't let him do this to us. You know I love you."

"You're dead." The male voice who I assumed as Riley said. Without warning, Seth lunged out before Riley could make a move and tackled him to the ground, only being able to rip off his hand. I went to go help Seth, but he stopped me,

'Pay attention to Victoria. Edward might need help.' He argued before I could move over there. I quietly made my way over to where Victoria had run to, Edward speaking up again and stopping her.

"You won't get another chance like this again. You want her! You want me to feel the pain you felt when I killed James. When I tore him to pieces. When I turned him into ash. When I turned him into nothing." The woman let out a screaming snarl and tackled Edward.

I jumped in front of Bella at that moment, making sure she wasn't left defenseless. I was crouched in front of her, my lips pulled over my teeth in a snarl, and my fur sticking straight up. We both watched as she tried lunging for us, but Edward shoved her back, her gripping onto a tree to keep from falling. She climbed it and Edward moved Bella, me following behind, to a different spot before he pulled the tree down. She lunged for Bella again, Edward managing to tackle her this time. Riley suddenly came back over the hill.

'Seth?' I called out, still standing guard in front of Bella.

'I'm fine, just disoriented.' He answered. I looked back and Riley and Victoria had started to overpower Edward. Edward had his hands around Riley's face, but Victoria had hers around Edwards. Bella suddenly dropped to the snow, shuffling around in it, and before I could stop her, picking up a rock. I heard the sound of the rock tearing her skin and then could smell the copper in the air as her blood started pouring from the wound.

Both Riley and Victoria's heads whipped around and stared at her, I moved in front of Bella again and broke their trance. They were distracted enough that Edward was able to push them off of him, though, and in the same moment, Seth suddenly appeared over the hill we had just run over, grabbing hold of Riley. He screamed for Victoria, but all Victoria did was turn her attention back to Edward, Bella, and I. His screams were soon cut off as Seth ripped him apart.

Victoria flung herself at Edward, Edward being ready for it, grabbed hold of her face, trying to rip it apart but she was able to throw herself over his shoulder and send herself flying. As soon as she was in the air, I went for her, locking my jaw around her head and shredding it from her body. Edward quickly lit the fire and started burning hers and Riley's bodies.

'The fight's over.' Seth and I said at the same time, Edward repeating the news to Bella and all four of us walking back to the field.  
My mind immediately settled once I saw Jasper, and Seth and I were able to see that the rest of our pack was okay. Something caught my eye and before I had time to fear the red eyes in front of me, I lunged for them, pushing between Esme and Rosalie. 

"Laela, don't!" Edward yelled before I could stop.

The newborn caught me and easily flung me into the rock platform in the middle of the field. A sharp pain suddenly spread through my shoulder and collar bone, causing loud and pathetic whines to escape me. I tried standing up, but failed and fell back to the ground, Jasper by my side in an instant. I just barely saw the male crush Jacob's ribs before the rest of the pack attacked and killed the final newborn. Jacob and I phased at the same time and it was only then that I finally heard Jasper trying to talk to me.

"Laela, where does it hurt?" He asked. I couldn't speak. It was the whole upper left side of my body that hurt almost as much as the first time I had phased. He didn't touch me, fearing that he would further hurt me. I couldn't see anything behind him and tried focusing on the fact that he was okay and still the same as before. It wasn't long before Carlisle was by my side and they both helped me sit up, Carlisle looking over my left shoulder. His touch was so light I wouldn't have felt it had it not been for the sharp temperature difference.

"Her clavicle has a clean break and her scapula is shattered into three different pieces." He said, "The wolves need to get them out of here. The Volturi won't honor a truce with any of them here." He said, knowing the whole pack could hear him anyway. "I'll be by as soon as I can to set the bones before they heal more than they already have." He told them.

"I'll go with her." Jasper said, Carlisle looking up at him.

"You know that can't happen right now." Carlisle told him, and Jasper sighed in defeat, knowing Carlisle was right.

All of the males helped picked Jacob up and Leah was by my side, helping me get redressed without hurting myself anymore. Before Leah and I left, Jasper walked over to both of us, a protective and annoyed growl rising through Leah, Jasper ignored her and spoke to me,

"Here, I picked it up while we were out hunting, mine and my family's numbers are already programmed in there. Let me know you get back safe." He said, sliding something into my hand before walking back over to his family's side. I looked down and realized he had slid a phone into my hand. I pocketed it and smiled through the pain of my shoulder that I wouldn't have to guess when I would be able to talk to him again; Leah and I walking back to Sam and Emily's house.

 

I told Leah multiple times while we waited on Carlisle to finish up with Jacob that she didn't have to stay with me in their house, but she didn't listen, repeatedly telling me that I was her sister and she wasn't leaving for anything. She would do the same thing for Seth and so she was doing it for me. It was about three hours after the fight before Carlisle, Sam, and Emily all walked through the door of the house, Sam and Emily staying downstairs as Carlisle made his way up the stairs and walked through my bedroom door, a small bag of medical supplies by his side.

"I wish there was something I could do to make it less painful, but the setting isn't going to be easy." He told me, nothing but regret written across his face, like he wished he could trade places with me. I just nodded,

"I've lived through worse than a few broken bones, Doc." I said, still sitting in my bed, not knowing the pain that was about to come. "Let's get it over with." I said, hoping that once the bones were set right, I wouldn't be in as much pain. I gripped onto the sheets of the bed and let out an ear-piercing scream as he set the first part of my shoulder blade, and another one as he set the last piece. I was pouring sweat and didn't even realize had tears streaming down my face. All I wanted in that moment was Jasper by my side, telling me everything was going to be okay. Carlisle let my breathing calm down a bit before stepping in front of me. He very gently touched my collar bone and looked up at me,

"Your collar bone has already started to heal improperly. I'm going to have to rebreak it in order to set it." He told me.

I just nodded, feeling too exhausted to focus on what that would truly mean. Leah moved and sat beside me, offering me her hand which I took. Within another long scream, he had rebroken and set my collar bone in the proper place. My whole left side was on fire all over again but this time I knew I wouldn't have to go through it again.

"You need your rest, the more sleep you get, the quicker you'll heal. No phasing for at least a week. I want to make sure your collar bone heals completely and you don't rebreak it when phasing." I gave him another nod, still too tired to argue with anything he said. "I’ll hook you up a morphine drip." He told me and helped me lay back down, then pushing the needle into my skin and hanging the bag of morphine off the bed frame. Leah took that as her sign to leave and gave me a half hug on my right side, telling me goodnight and to talk to her tomorrow if I could. I waited until she left to look over at Carlisle,

"Please, don't tell Jasper about me needing all of this. You can tell him you had to set and reset everything, but don't tell him how much pain I was in." I begged him, not wanting Jasper to be too worried about me.

"I won't lie to him, but I won't tell him anything he doesn't ask about." He told me. I nodded in response, knowing it wasn't fair to ask him to lie to his son.


	10. Chapter 8

I don't remember Carlisle leaving, or even falling asleep.

I didn't remember much over the next few days. Carlisle had left a few extra bags of morphine, knowing that our body temperature would burn through a regular dose of morphine easily. I vaguely remember waking up every few hours in order to eat and drink enough to keep me from starving or becoming dehydrated, and then sending an update to Jasper and Leah. He would always reply instantly, saying that he was glad I was doing okay, and he couldn't wait to see me again. Leah would tell me she couldn’t wait for me to be back to normal and able to phase so we could finally race. It was day three before Sam and Emily finally ran out of morphine and I was able to truly wake up.  
I walked out to the living room where Sam, Jared, Paul, and Emily were sat talking about something I couldn't pick up on.

"There she is! Sleeping beauty has awoken." Emily greeted me. I chuckled,

"Only because y'all finally ran out of morphine to keep me asleep." I said jokingly, pulling a chair out from the table with the arm that wasn't in a sling and sitting down. "Something does smell amazing though." I told her, Paul standing up before I could even ask what it was and fixing me a plate.

"Here you go." He said, setting the plate down in front of me, a large cinnamon roll with icing in the middle.

"Thank you." I told him before picking it up and beginning to eat.

"How do you feel?" Emily asked me as the three males in the room went back to discussing whatever it was from before.

"Like I need a shower and I'm already going stir crazy." I said, chuckling.

"Going stir crazy from being asleep for three days, or going stir crazy from being without your imprint for three days?" She asked, a cheeky smile and quirked eyebrow following the question, causing me to blush and silently continue eating the delicious pastry in front of me. "How do you feel physically though?" She asked.

"Better than three days ago. I'm still sore a little bit, but I don't feel like my shoulder is a lit flame." I told her, "Actually, I was planning on going out today just to walk around a little bit." I lied. I could tell she knew it was a lie, but she also could tell exactly where I was going to go and just nodded,

"As long as you don't strain yourself or phase." She told me. I quickly leaned over and hugged her the best I could, smiling widely and heading up the stairs to get ready. I knew I wouldn't have to ask Jasper if it was okay for us to meet so I didn't bother sending him another message until after I had showered - only moving my shoulder to wash myself - and get dressed with some help from Emily when it came to sliding on my shirt and Jasper's hoodie.

"Meet you at the northern side of the treaty line?" I sent to him.

"Be there in five minutes." He replied.

I walked through the reservation, feeling as though I hadn't seen everyone in a week even though it had only been three days. It wasn't until I saw Jasper standing beside the Jeep that I realized just how much I had missed him. A bright smile spread across his face at the same time one spread across mine. As soon as I was across the treaty line, he had scooped me up, still being careful of my left side, and had me in a big hug.

"I've missed you, my Little Wolf." He said into my ear, "These three days have felt like an eternity."

"I missed you, too, my Cowboy." I said back, him setting me down.

"Your Cowboy?" He asked.

"If you get to call me Little Wolf, I get to call you Cowboy. At least until I think of something better."

"Fair enough. Now, what would you like to do today?" He asked, opening the door for me and helping me inside, getting into his side less than a second later.

"I really don't know, I can't do too much until Carlisle clears me, hopefully in a couple days. I just couldn't stand sleeping anymore." I told him.

"Okay, how about we just go hang out at my place, then?" He asked. I felt a little rush of anxiety wash over me and he took my hand in his, "I didn't mean it like that, I just meant we could sit around and get to know each other a little better." A blush crept onto my face as I realized what he thought I was nervous about.

"No, that's not where my mind went, I was just worried that your family might think we're moving too fast. It's only been a week since we met and that's usually a little quick to be meeting the family an-" Jasper cut me off before I could keep rambling with a finger over my lips.

"Laela, I think you forget neither one of us are exactly normal. Everyone in my family has been as understanding as they can be. Rosalie had a problem with it at first, but she warmed up to you just a little bit when you saved her and Esme, Alice, on the other hand, has already accepted you, is super excited to meet you, and has a couple questions for you." The thought of meeting his family was terrifying, but I could see how happy it would make him and that's what mattered. His happiness. I nodded,

"Okay, I'll meet them." I said, causing another wide smile to spread over his face as he took off down the road. That smile was enough to make any fear I felt completely disappear. The wind passing through the open Jeep felt amazing and for a second, I felt like I was back in wolf form. I missed it already. I inhaled deeply, the everlasting scent of rain and wet soil flooding through me.

"By the way, my hoodie still looks good on you, even with a sling." He complimented me, a rush of heat rising to my cheeks, earning a sweet little laugh from him as he felt my change in emotions. "Your hair looks gorgeous when you let it down." He said, another blush starting to rise.

"Jazz I'm going to be a tomato by the time we get to your place if you keep this up."

"Good." I looked over at him and saw him smirking at me, "I couldn't see you for three days, so I want to make sure I get to say all of the compliments I didn't get the chance to. Like how badass you were to protect Bella and go after Victoria despite your fear, how you protected my family and lunged for the newborn behind Esme and Rosalie and paid a price for it yet haven't complained about it at all, and how you're emotionally one of the most complicated people I've ever read, yet your loyalty to the people you love outshines any of that."

My face, neck, and ears were all hot with the embarrassment of the river of compliments. Luckily for me, we pulled up to his house before he could start another shower of compliments. Before I could get my seatbelt off, still struggling with not being able to use my left hand, Jasper was opening my door and helping me take the seatbelt off.

"Thank you." I told him, taking his outstretched hand and carefully getting out of the car.

"No problem, Little Wolf." He said, shutting the door behind me. "You came over on a lucky day. Carlisle and Esme are the only ones home. The rest are off hunting."

"Why aren't you with them?" I asked, looking up at him as we walked towards the house.

"Alice told me to stay home and wouldn't tell me why so I wasn't willing to push it." I nodded. I knew hunting was a time that total instinct took over, especially if it was anything like I had experienced in my two years surviving primarily as a wolf, including eating like one. If Alice had told him to stay home it, everyone except for Edward would assume it was because something might go wrong and that was one of his greatest fears - to have everything Carlisle's built crumble because he lost control for one second.

Before Jasper could even open the door to the house, I could smell everyone's scent, setting my nose and throat on fire, almost as if I had swallowed bleach.

"What's wrong?" He asked me, concern written on his features.

"Nothing, just the smell is overwhelming at first. Your scent doesn't do it, but the rest of theirs all together is a lot to take in, especially when it’s so concentrated here." I explained, "I'm fine though, it'll get easier the more time I spend around it."

"Does that mean you plan on spending more time here?" He asked, both of us smiling as I realized what I had insinuated.

"As long as your family doesn't hate the shapeshifter girl who suddenly imprinted on you." Jasper shook his head,

"They're gonna love you." He reassured me. "Are you ready?" He asked me. I nodded and he opened up the door, letting me inside first and closing the door behind himself.  
Esme and Carlisle made their appearance from the dining room and, despite having met Carlisle, a new wave of anxiety rushed over me, though it disappeared as quickly as it made its appearance when Jasper put a comforting hand on my back. I wasn't sure if it was him using his ability or just having contact with my imprint, but I welcomed the calm feeling over anxiety any day.

"Welcome to our home, Laela. It's nice to finally meet you under better circumstances." Esme spoke first.

"Yes, I believe me fixing your shoulder and fighting weren't exactly the most pleasant of times to meet the family." Carlisle said next. I offered them both a warm smile,

"Thank you both for welcoming me into your home, and thank you, Carlisle, for helping with my shoulder." I said, genuinely.

"It was no problem. You're a part of the family now." He told me, and I could tell he meant it. 

Something about both him and Esme screamed acceptance and love, you could feel it in the atmosphere around them. They could hurt if they absolutely needed to, like a couple days ago, but this is what they would rather be doing. An oven timer dinged, and I looked at Jasper, confused.

"Jasper told us that you'd be coming over as soon as he found out and I stared cooking a little something for you." Esme explained before Jasper could, "I followed a recipe so I'm hoping it tastes good and you like it."

"I'm sure I will, wolves aren't exactly picky eaters." I said truthfully, following her to the kitchen and watching as she flipped what looked like two chicken breasts over in the oven and stirred a couple of pots that were on the stove.

"I'll be sure to remember that. How's your shoulder been feeling?"

"I missed most of the pain being asleep for three days. I'm still a little sore but it's nothing too bad."

"I'm glad to hear that, hopefully you'll be back to normal in a couple more days." 

"I hope so, too. I know she's going stir crazy not being able to phase." Jasper spoke for the first time since we'd walked inside. I hadn't even realized he had walked into the kitchen. A look of guilt passed by Esme's face and it looked like you had just kicked a kitten.

"We're still so sorry about that. We should have been more careful and made sure they were all dead, he could've easily done more damage while we were off guard." She apologized profusely, I just shook my head at her apologies.

"Jasper's happiness and safety are what matters to me and neither of those would exist if I hadn't tried to stop the newborn and he had hurt one of you." I told her, confusion written across her face.

"I thought imprinting was a romantic thing for wolves?"

"Not all the time. Imprinting is similar to soulmates, really. It can be romantic or platonic, it’s completely up to the one who was imprinted on to decide. They could even decide that they don't want anything to do with us, and it would be extremely painful for the wolf, but we'd have to live by their choice. We're here to be whatever they need, whether it's a protector, significant other, or just a sibling relationship." Her face by the end of it had a mix of emotions that I couldn't read. I took it as a good sign when Jasper came up behind me and wrapped an arm around my waist and she smiled at the two of us.

"I'm glad to hear that there's someone who's willing to do anything to protect Jasper, it seems he's done that a lot for us recently, I'm even happier that it's someone as kind as you." She told me, coming over and hugging me tightly. I hugged her back, surprising even myself when I didn't tense up or flinch away and only shivered at the difference in temperature. Our conversation was interrupted by the shrill ring of Esme’s cell phone and she answered it before the first ring was done,

“You’re doing amazing.” Jasper whispered in my ear, low enough that only he and I could pick up on.

“I hope so.” I said back, Jasper pulling me into his chest.

“She loves you, trust me, I can tell.” I chuckled and relaxed against him, taking a breath while I was surrounded by his scent instead of the other harsh scents in the house. 

“I don’t really have a choice. You’re kinda the obvious one to trust in the situation.”

“Exactly, and I’m going to go ahead and apologize for what’s about to happen.” He said. I quirked an eyebrow at him, not hearing anything out of the ordinary, but not able to question him before Esme walked back in the room.

“They’re on their way back now, apparently the hunting was kind of slow today.” She said, and I realized why Jasper apologized.

"For some reason, I believe Alice may have put them on that slow trail on purpose." Jasper said, Esme giving him a look that said she agreed.

“They should be here any minute now, so if you want Carlisle to look at your shoulder before they get here, I’d go now.” She suggested to me. I looked up at Jasper, asking him if he was okay with it. He nodded and walked me through the house, pointing out which room was which as we walked to Carlisle’s office.

Carlisle was already putting away what he was reading when we walked into the room, clearing a space for me to sit on his desk. “Have you tried moving your shoulder at all or have you strictly had it in the sling?” He asked me as he began removing the sling.

“It’s just been in the sling. I took it off to shower and get dressed and that’s it.” I answered, “I’ve been asleep for the rest of it.” He nodded at my response,

“Let me know when it starts to hurt.” He told me, slowly lifting my arm up from where it had been pressed against my side, stretching it slowly. It didn’t start hurting until my arm and my side was perpendicular,

“There.” I told him, wincing a little bit and causing Jasper to take a step towards me, though Carlisle gently lowered my arm before I could process any more pain.

“Well, you’ve gained a good bit of motion since then, so it’s always a positive. You should be finished healing within the week.” He told me, gently pulling the back of my shirt and Jasper’s hoodie up so could see my shoulder blade. “There’s no more bruising or swelling which is another good sign.” He told me, letting my shirt and hoodie fall back into place. Jasper came over and helped me put the sling back on. “At this pace, you might be able to phase within the next week.” Relief and excitement flooded through me at the thought, only to be replaced by anxiety the minute I heard the door open downstairs, my head snapping up to look up Jasper. 

"Don't worry, Little Wolf, Rose is the only one to be nervous about." He said, helping me off of Carlisle's desk.

"And she wouldn't dare embarrass Esme by being anything less than hospitable." Carlisle said, a little louder than need be, but loud enough that I knew she could hear it downstairs. I nodded at both of them, following Carlisle and Jasper, who had laced his hand in mine to try and comfort me.

"Here she comes." I heard someone mutter, sounding less than pleased which earned a low, warning growl from Jasper. I gave his hand a little squeeze to show it didn't bother me as we re-entered the kitchen. Alice was the first to greet me, and I couldn't say I was surprised,

"Hi, Laela! It's so nice to finally meet you." She said, excitement in her voice and even I could tell that she was holding herself back a little bit, as if she was afraid she was going to startle me.

"I gotta say, we heard some pretty badass things about you." Emmett said, chuckling and getting a less-than-pleased look from Rosalie that he ignored. "The dive after Victoria was pretty badass for someone who's never been in a fight before."

"It's nice to meet you, too, Alice, and, Emmett, thank you for that, it does mean a lot but I'd stop complimenting me or you might have to deal with Rose later tonight judging by that look." I said, now the look towards Emmett was being thrown towards me. I ignored it as Edward started talking.

"I can't thank you enough for you helping me protect Bella. I was able to thank Seth earlier, but never got the chance for you. It means a lot to me, and I know it wasn't easy being away from Jasper in that situation." I blushed as he mentioned Jasper, still shy about the whole situation around his family.

"It wasn't a problem. I was doing what wolves are supposed to do." I said, taking the smallest step closer to Jasper. Alice nudged Rose and Rose let out a small huff.

"And thank you, for protecting Esme and me when we didn't notice the newborn. I hope your shoulder isn't hurt too bad." Rose said. I could tell it was genuine, she just didn't like giving a wolf a genuinely positive anything.

"Carlisle said I should be fine within the week." I told her.

"Good, maybe you and I could face off soon. Always wondered what it would be like to take on a werewolf." Emmett said, causing Esme to interrupt,

"No, no fighting until she's completely healed and nowhere near my house." She said, causing me to giggle at how defensive she got over her house. "Plus, her food is ready and you trying to wrestle her is not going to be the reason it gets cold." She handed me a plate and my mouth watered at the smell of it all.

"We should probably go to the living room, so Alice can start asking you questions before the vampire aneurism starts." Edward said. Alice glared at him a little bit,

"Oh please, you, Carlisle, and I are all curious about it so hush." She said, my eyebrows furrowing in confusion.

“You’ll see.” Jasper muttered, all of us walking to the living room.

The family sat on the various furniture in the room while I sat down in front of Jasper, afraid that I would spill the food on the brand-new looking furniture. While I ate, the family made sure to include me in the conversation. Most of it was seemed too normal for a family of vampires; Edward being asked about Bella, Carlisle talking about the hospital, and Alice talking about upcoming fashion trends that she was desperate to try. It wasn’t until I had finished eating that they finally turned their conversation back to me,

“What are y’all curious about?” I asked once there was a place to speak in the conversation. Alice was the first to speak up,

“Do you remember how Jasper said that my visions have holes and I can’t see your pack?” She asked me. I nodded,

“Yeah, you said you could see humans because you were one and you could see vampires because you are one, but our pack was a blind spot because you’re not a wolf.” I said, reciting back from one of the practices.

“Exactly. I couldn’t see you join the pack, and I couldn’t see you arriving to the practices but after you imprinted on Jasper I could. None of the visions that I saw were accurate because I couldn’t see the rest of your pack, but I could still see you.” She told me. I didn’t know what to do with the information at all, kind of confused and shocked that she could see me at all.

“We think it may be because of your imprinting.” Edward said, reading my confusion. I nodded,

“So, you see what would happen if the rest of my pack wasn’t there?” I asked.

“Yes and no.” Alice said, “It’s more like I see glimpses of your future until your pack arrives. Like when Seth was thrown off guard and it was just you in front of Bella, I could see that you were okay, but once Seth stepped back in, I couldn’t see anything else.”

“You think your visions basically confuse me for a vampire because of the imprint, but still recognize the rest of the pack because they haven’t imprinted on a vampire?” I asked, and Alice nodded as a reply.

I moved from my seat on the floor to next to Jasper, trying to process it all and still having questions that I knew we didn’t know the answer to. I didn’t expect Jasper to do what he did next, the only reason I could think for it to surprise me was we were in front of his whole family. He wrapped an arm around my shoulders and pulled me into his side. I ignored the blush that rose to my cheeks when Alice and I made eye contact and she couldn’t stop smiling at us.

“That’s always better than your visions confusing Jasper for a dog and completely blocking him out.” Rosalie said, still sitting next to Emmett who was paying more attention to whatever football game was on than to the conversation.

“You know it’s weird, you think her visions can’t see dogs, yet her visions can see how much of a bitch you’re being.” I fired back without thinking before I spoke. Jasper, Alice, and Edward all had to muffle their laughter and you could tell Emmett, Esme, and Carlisle we’re trying their best to hide their smile.

“Well,” She started, looking me up and down one time, “At least this one has a backbone.” She said, a small smirk on her face.

I turned my attention back to Alice, “I wish I knew why you have this loophole in your visions, but wolves were taught that imprinting was a way of the universe trying to create the strongest wolves. My imprinting has kind of thrown everything we’ve believed in up in the air.” I told her, hating that both of us had more questions than we could answer.

“Do you think the pack has any special changes because of this?” Carlisle asked. I hadn’t thought about it. None of the pack had mentioned anything but it doesn’t mean they couldn’t have just been hiding something, though I had no reason to believe they 

“I don’t think so; our thoughts are pretty hard to hide from each other. The only changes we’ve had are the ones that come along with every imprint.” I told her.

“What are those?” Emmett said, speaking up for the first time since everyone had started 

“They understand that my pack duties will be pretty limited since it can cause us to be extremely anxious and possibly painful to be away from our imprint, so unless the imprintee says to leave, we would rather not. He’s also considered a member of the pack to an extent. There are some things that only the wolves in the pack can know, but Sam’s imprint, Emily, is still one of our pack members and she’s always kept up to date on major happenings in the pack. And the most sacred law is that he can’t be hurt by any other wolf at all, no matter what he does. The pain we’d feel because of losing our imprint is indescribable, the only feeling that comes close to it is losing a pack member which causes the whole pack to grieve for months on end.” I told him, all eyes on me by the time I had by the time I had finished talking. “The only other change I’ve realized is that I don’t feel a temperature difference with Jasper like I do with the rest of you and his scent doesn’t feel like bleach down my throat.”

“Those are routine changes for each imprint?” Jasper asked, and I looked up at him and nodded. “Do you think that they’ll be as willing to honor of all these laws with... our situation?” He asked. I could tell he was nervous to ask, as if he’d offend me.

“I honestly don’t know. Finding your imprint is usually a time of celebration, but since you’re a vampire, you can tell they’re not as excited. They might just stand in the middle where there’s no celebration, but they don’t kick me out of the pack.” I said honestly.

“Do you honestly think they would do that?” Carlisle asked, his voice laced with concern at the thought of me being without a pack again. I shook my head,

“No, Sam has the final say and he understands more than anyone that you can’t choose who you imprint on. He would never kick someone out for who they imprinted on.” I said, Carlisle nodding and I saw a slight bit of relief on his face.

Honestly, the thought of Sam kicking me out of the pack had never occurred to me, and no one had mentioned it. I tried ignoring the dark thought that was at the back of my mind, suddenly remembering the conversation that suddenly halted when I entered the room this morning, and feeling a bit of worry, but forcing myself to focus on the conversation that we were previously talking about. Apparently, I didn’t push the feeling away quick enough, because suddenly Jasper was standing up in front of me,

“We can talk about this later.” he said, not really giving anyone the chance to object before helping me up and guiding me away from the living room, then up to his room, shutting the door behind us as if it would really keep anyone from hearing us.

I looked around his room, seeing a large bookshelf that took up one half of the wall. I walked over to it, scanning the books and recognizing a few of the titles. I moved on to the next part of it and saw a couple shelves worth of DVD’s, a couple classics littered into the mostly nonfiction display. The last couple of shelves were filled with CD’s. The genres ranging from 80’s rock to classical to country. The thing that surprised me the most was when I saw a few rap artists littered into the mix.

“Do you want to talk about it?” I asked, leaning forward and picking up one of the CD’s I didn’t recognize, scanning over the back of it before putting it back. Jasper walked over to me, resting his head on my good shoulder and wrapping an arm around my left side. He buried his head in my neck and let out a low sigh that caused shivers to run down my spine.

“Everyone’s emotions were too much. Esme and Carlisle were concerned, Rosalie was getting annoyed that no one has any answers about the changes, Alice and Edward were confused and intrigued with all of it, and Emmett was scared for you. They were all mixed together, and it was too much all at once.” He said, continuing on, “Your emotions, even when you were scared that first day, are like a haven for me. They affect me, but the negative emotions don’t have nearly as big of an effect on me. And your positive emotions seem to overtake everyone else’s.”

I reached my arm up and started running my fingers through his hair, causing him to let out another sigh and burrow his head further under my hair. 

“You have a weird effect on me, too. You don’t smell bad, I trust you, and your skin isn’t freezing cold for me to touch. I know it’s not much compared to your ability, but it’s weird for me.” I told him, leaning my head against his. We stayed silent for a couple minutes, enjoying the closeness.

“What time do you have to be back on the reservation?” He asked me, standing up straight and looking down at me.

“No specific time,” I said, looking up at him, “but Emily and Sam usually wait on me for dinner, so I probably shouldn’t be too late.”

“That’s fine with me, I just want more than a few rushed minutes like we’re used to.” Jasper said.

“Same here. Is there anything specific you had in mind?” I asked, looking back to the shelves of books.

“You seem to have taken an interest in my books and music, I might have a hard time dragging you away if I do.” He said, amusement in his voice. I giggled a little bit and nodded,

“You might. I’ve read a lot of these books but there’s a few I don’t recognize.” I said, picking up one and reading the back of it.

“Well I am a couple years older than you, so it makes sense that I’ve read more.” He teased.

“Just a couple years older than me?” I asked sarcastically.

“Give or take about two hundred.” He said, shrugging his shoulders as if it was a couple months. I placed the book back where he had it and walked over to the couch, sitting down and watching as he went to a shelf and pulled a smaller book out.

He walked over to me and sat down on the opposite end of the couch. I didn’t question him as he picked up my legs and put them on the couch, then laying down between my legs with his head on my chest. He held the book up for me,

“Grace?” I asked

“By Richard Paul Evans. The book is a little religious, but it’s not enough to turn away anyone who doesn’t like religion.” He told me, and I nodded.

“What’s it about?

“A lot. I can’t really explain it without giving away a huge plot point.”

“Can you give me a hint?” I asked, moving his hair out of his face and giving him a too-big and overly cheesy smile, trying to get him to give in. He smiled up at me and rolled his eyes playfully,

“A girl runs away from home and guy her age helps her so she doesn’t have to go back home.” He finally answered. I looked at the book again and nodded,

“I’ll definitely read it before we see each other again.”

“You think you can read it before tomorrow?”

“I won’t have anything else to do since I can’t phase, so yes, Cowboy.”

“Such an attitude, Little Wolf.”

I chuckled, “You haven’t seen attitude yet, and you probably never will.” 

“I don’t know, I’m kind of intrigued.” He didn’t move his eyes from my face and I quirked an eyebrow at him.

“You’re intrigued with my temper?”

“Not with your temper, per se, but how it would affect me. Or how it would affect us, y’know since we kind of pick up on each other’s emotions.” He said, his eyebrows furrowing together in thought. I continued playing with his hair,

“Someone will piss me off soon enough and you’ll probably be around to see it. That just means you’ll have to hang around me more often.” I shrugged.

“Well, I think we’ll have a problem with that since we just can’t stand each other.” He said, sarcastically, causing me to giggle.

“Loathe each other. I don’t know how I’m ever going to get through it.” I said in the same tone.

“Guess it’s a good thing that whatever’s out there made us to be in each other’s life.” Jasper said, no sarcasm in his voice like before. The sincerity that was in his voice caught me off guard and caused me to stutter over my words,

“Y-yeah. Guess it’s a good thing you didn’t decide to completely cut me off.” I leaned my head back, trying to casually hide my blush from him despite the fact I knew it would do nothing. Thankfully, he didn’t mention it.

“Why don’t you read the first couple of chapters of Grace and let me know if you like it or if you want another book?” He suggested, picking up my hand still holding the book.

“I’ll probably like it, but you’ll have to excuse how I read at a normal pace and not vampire speed, unlike some people.” I said, opening the book and flipping through the first few pages until I found the start of chapter one.

“I’ll try.” He rolled over so he could lay his head on my chest, wrapping his arms around my waist.

I started reading while he laid motionless on my chest. If it wasn’t for the obvious, I would’ve believed he was asleep. It wasn’t until he moved his head and looked up at me that I realized I was on the fifth chapter of the book. 

“It’s a good book, isn’t it?” He asked, looking up with a smirk, saying he knew the answer already.

“Does what I think will happen, happen?” I asked, looking down at him. He laughed a little bit and shrugged,

“I don’t know what you’re thinking, only feeling. Wrong brother for that one.” He said, causing me to give him a look that said ‘are you kidding?’. He laughed a little bit at my facial expression and I started to give him puppy dog eyes instead, poking out my bottom lip. Jasper wasn’t falling for it. He could feel that I was still just playing with him.

 

“Not telling you, you’ll just have to read it.” 

“Be glad you’re cute, because I could just google the plot summary, but I won’t.”

“You better not, I’ll quiz you about it if that’s what it takes.”

“Fine, I won’t google it. But I do need to go home soon.” I said, disappointment covering my voice at the last statement. Jasper let out a little sigh and, going extremely slow, stood up and helped me up.

“Tell Emily and Sam thank you for letting me steal you for the day.” He said, taking hold of my hand and holding the book in his free hand.

“I will, Cowboy.” I followed him down the stairs of the house and said goodbye to Esme and Carlisle, who told me not to be a stranger and to come back soon, and followed Jasper out of the house. He opened the car door for me and helped me in, also helping me buckle my seatbelt.

“What kind of music do you like?” He asked me after the car was started and we were out of his driveway.

“I used to listen to just about anything, but it’s been four years since I’ve heard anything besides little bits from passing cars.” I answered honestly.

“Did you like rock?”

“For the most part, what were you thinking of?”

“What about 3 Doors Down? They were early 2000’s so your chances of knowing them are better.” He told me, and I nodded, remembering my sister and I sneaking off to listen to them, away from our parents in case they didn’t like it.

“I only remember a few songs, but they were pretty good.” I told him. He didn’t reply and leaned forward, changing the track of the CD until a familiar beat started playing.

“Well I took a walk around the world to ease my troubled mind.” Jasper sang, surprising me as I heard just how smooth his voice. He continued the song, eventually getting me to join in with him. “If I go crazy then will you still call me Superman.” He sang, motioning for me to sing the next line.

“If I'm alive and well, will you be there holding my hand?”

“I'll keep you by my side with my superhuman might.”

“Kryptonite.” We both sang, ending the song right as he pulled up to the reservation line where he picked me up. I was a little surprised to see Paul waiting at the line, arms crossed with a cruel look on his face. Jasper ignored the look whole my eyebrows were furrowed as he helped me out of the car.

“Hey, Paul. What’s wrong?” I asked. His arms dropped from across his chest and his glare softened as he saw me.

“The pack didn’t know where you were. All Emily knew was that you were out and you aren’t allowed to phase so we had no way of talking to you. Sam got worried and put one of us at each treaty border.” He said.

“She was safe with me; she was just meeting the family.” Jasper said before I could answer. He took my hand in his and I saw Paul’s gaze drop to it for half a second before looking back up at me.

“I’ll go let the pack know. We were just worried.” He said, giving Jasper a short but civil nod and gave me a gentle hug before walking toward the forest.

“Well, at least I know they really have accepted you and I know you’re safe.” Jasper spoke lowly, looking down at me. I quirked an eyebrow,

“What do you mean?” I asked, a mix of confusion and slight attitude in my tone at what he was implying. He realized what I had heard, and his eyes widened, immediately trying to defend himself.

“Laela, that’s not what I meant, I know you’re safe with them, I just meant that you’re not from here and sometimes joining a new pack, if it’s anything like a coven, can be hard and they don’t always have to accept you and- “

“Jasper! It’s okay.” I said, laughing a little bit at his wide-eyed expression and giving his hand a light squeeze. “I know what you meant, baby. I just wanted to see you stutter for a moment.” I could tell he was trying to asses my mood and before I could react, he had me pulled into his chest and was tickling me.

“That was cruel, Little Wolf!” He said, laughing along with me.

“Jazz, please stop!” I begged, trying to breathe while he continued tickling me, “I’m sorry!” He stopped long enough for me to catch my breath,  
“What do I get if I stop tickling you?” He asked, looking down at me.

“The joy that your imprint will be happy and you’re the reason so?” I tried, looking up at him with puppy dog eyes once again. He pretended to think about it before letting me go. “Thank you.”

“You only get away if I can get a goodbye hug before I have to let you cross the line.” He said, opening his arms for me. I walked forward, letting him wrap his arms around me and wrapping my good arm around him. We stayed like that for a long minute and Jasper rested his head on top of mine. “Can I see you again tomorrow?”

“You really don’t have to ask. The only time I’m going to say no is when I can phase again and have to run guard some days.” I told him, looking up at him and holding eye contact with him.

“I’m glad, I think it’d be pretty hard to keep myself away from you, Little Wolf.”

“I understand the feeling, Cowboy.” I laid my head back on his chest, enjoying the moment for a little while longer. “I should really go, but I’m really comfortable.” We both pulled away from each other, neither of us wanting to but knowing I needed to go back to Sam and Emily’s.

“Don’t forget to read.” He told me as he got back into his car.

“I won’t.” I said at a normal volume, knowing he would hear it. We waved goodbye to each other before I stepped back over the line and started walking back home.


	11. Chapter 9

I didn’t worry about rushing back to the house, knowing Paul had already let Sam know I was safe. I made sure to make note of every little detail I could about the reservation. I did this a lot, trying to memorize it all as if it would disappear the next day and I would wake up alone and on the run again. 

Eventually, I arrived back at Sam and Emily’s and stepped inside the welcoming little home, expecting to see Sam and Emily at the table but instead finding the whole pack, Emily, and the Elders standing and sitting around the table. The air was tense and I could tell whatever they had been talking about hadn’t been an easy conversation.

“What’s going on?” I asked, looking between all of their faces, landing on Leah, Paul, and Sam the most, hoping one of them would eventually speak. My heart was pounding in my chest and the worst thoughts flashed through my mind. Were they kicking me out of the pack because I imprinted on Jasper? Were they going to make me choose between them and Jasper? I wouldn’t be able to choose that. Sam looked down at Billy and nodded before Billy started to speak.

“Laela, as you know, we’ve all accepted you into this pack and into the family. While your imprint has raised many questions and has caused us to have to question everything we thought about imprinting, we would never want you to feel like you would have to choose between us and your imprint.” What he said eased some of my anxiety, but Sam could’ve told me that. It didn’t explain why it looked like the whole town was gathered in our home.

“Thank you, for not kicking me out. I know it’s not an ideal imprint.” I said, looking between him and Sam. I wasn’t given a chance to say anything else before Billy continued speaking,

“An imprint has never been something we would kick someone out of the pack over. It’s a sacred thing for us and, while there has been some discourse over this, it’s never come close to you being kicked out of the pack.” Billy reassured me. I couldn’t help it, them saying that they never came close to sending me on my way was a huge relief, one that overwhelmed me so much that I had to quickly wipe away tears from under my eyes and keep myself from crying.

“If she’s crying now, she’s going to have a meltdown at the next part, Sam.” Seth said, laughing at my reaction, then wincing when Leah elbowed him. I furrowed my eyebrows together and looked from Seth, back to Sam and Billy.

“The next part?” I asked, scanning the rest of the faces in the room. Most of them wore smiles, some of them held nervous excitement, and while some didn’t look excited, you could tell they were happy. I waited for an answer for about three more seconds before Paul finally blurted out,

“Billy or Sam, if one of you don’t tell her, I will!” He snipped, causing a few of the boys to start laughing.

“Do you remember the day I taught you about our treaty with the Cullen’s?” Sam asked me. I nodded,

“Yes, all of us would coexist with each other as long as none of them crossed the treaty line or harmed a human in Forks.” I said, remembering the day Sam had broken down what all the Treaty meant to the peace kept in Forks.

“Well, that was before you joined the pack and before you found your imprint. It’s been a big discussion in the pack since Emily and I overheard you talking about Jasper in your sleep, even just today the most of us can tell a difference in the way you are after spending the day with him.” Sam said, a deep blush covering my face when he said I was talking about Jasper in my sleep.

“We’re going to keep the Treaty, but Carlisle, Esme, Sam, and I have decided on changing one part of the Treaty so you aren’t in such a difficult position.” Billy said now. “This change has not been a light decision and there’s no way we can stress how big of a change this is, so we need to know that you’ll respect the rules to the new change in the Treaty.” I nodded, still not understanding where this was going.

“I’ll follow whatever new rules were put in place.” I told him, still as confused as I was walking in.

“The change in the Treaty is that you are now allowed to bring Jasper over Treaty lines. He must be accompanied by you in order to cross, he cannot go anywhere without you, and he is the only Cullen allowed on the land. We hope this shows you that we do accept you and think of you as family, even with you imprinting on him.” Before Billy could even finish, I had started crying, once again, overwhelmed by how much they had accepted me in such a small amount of time. I walked straight over to Sam and Billy, giving them both the biggest hugs I could muster with one arm.

“Thank you, thank you both so much for this.” I told them, “You have no idea what this means to me.”

“You’re a member of the pack now, Laela, we don’t want you to feel like you’re unwelcome or we treat you any differently. We would’ve made this same decision had anyone else been in this situation.” Sam said, eventually both of us pulling away and the rest of the pack coming over and giving me hugs.

“I told you that it would be okay.” Jacob said to me when he finally got a chance to hug me.

“I know, I know, you’re always right.” I said, sarcastically.

“Damn straight I am. It also means I’m right when you smell like a leech.” He said, grimacing at the smell of the Cullens all over me.

“I’m taking that as a hint to go change.” I said before walking upstairs and, somehow, changing into a different set of clothes that didn’t smell like them.

After rejoining the rest of the pack and the elders downstairs, we all continued to talk about just about anything and everything that had been going on. I hadn’t missed much not being able to phase, but everyone felt weird not having me out to help run patrol. Everyone only stayed around for about two hours after the news was announced before heading back home. I grabbed a plate of leftovers from the fridge before saying goodnight and a thanks to Emily and Sam then heading up to my room.  
I saw the book on my nightstand and set my food down next to it, changing into pajamas and settling into my bed. I hadn’t decided how much I was going to read, figuring I would just stop when I grew tired, but as I read more, all of my food long gone by now, I couldn’t convince myself to put the book down. Jasper had good taste in books, I could say that honestly. It wasn’t until I got to the very last chapter that I finally understood everything in the book. For what felt like the millionth time that day, I started crying. I wasn’t able to stop myself, the ending of the book completely taking me by surprise and feeling like it was ripping my heart out.  
I tuned out the phone ringing on my nightstand, not even realizing what it was until after I had finished. I quickly grabbed the phone and answered it, sniffling a bit and my voice hoarse from all of the crying,

“Hello?” I answered, not having read who was calling.

“Laela, are you okay? Alice had a vision of you crying.” Jasper’s voice rang in my ears through the phone.

“Which time?” I asked, chuckling dryly.

“What do you mean ’which time’? Why have you been crying? Do I need to come and get you?” He said in a rush.

“Jasper, you’re the reason I cried one of the times! You gave me one of the saddest books to exist!” I said, laughing at how worried he was.

“You were crying over Grace?” He asked, a shocked tone in his voice.

“Yes, I was crying! That was the most heart wrenching things I’ve ever read!” I exclaimed.

“Oh boy do I have a few more books for you, then.” He said, laughing a little bit at the groan that escaped my lips. “Why else were you crying?”

“I don’t want to explain it over the phone, but it’s good news. I was happy crying.” I reassured him.

“I’ll be looking forward to hearing the news tomorrow, Little Wolf.”

“What time do you want to meet?”

“I’ll come pick you up at 3 so I can hunt. Same place.” He said and I could practically hear the smile in his voice.

“Alright, I’ll see you then with your demon book in hand.” I told him.

“Goodnight, Little Wolf, get some sleep.” Jasper told me, a smile spreading across my face.

“Goodnight, Cowboy.” I told him, hanging up the phone and setting it on top of the book. I laid down in my bed and fell asleep before I even realized I was truly tired.


	12. Chapter 10

I woke up the next morning on my own and feeling refreshed for the first time in since before the fight. The first thought that traced my mind was Jasper, followed by just how hungry I was. I rolled over to face my nightstand, grabbing my phone and reading the text message Jasper sent earlier that morning.

"Morning, Little Wolf. Hope you’re sleeping well and I can’t wait to hear the good news. Carlisle, Esme, and Edward all know and none of them will tell me." The message was sent at 8:32 this morning, looking at the clock I saw it was now 10:05.

"Morning, Cowboy. I slept amazingly and that’s because they figure I’ll want to tell you and they’re smart." I sent back, figuring I wouldn’t get a response while he was out hunting, but carrying the phone downstairs anyways.

I set it down on the table, walking over to the fridge and pulling out eggs, crumbled sausage, and various vegetables. I made sure to listen out for my phone as I cooked my omelet, cleaning up while my food was cooling down. I picked up the plate of food, grabbed a fork, and my phone and walked outside and onto the small porch, sitting at one of the little patio tables. I wasn’t sure where Emily was this morning, and figured Sam was out patrolling. I carefully balanced my plate on my lap and started to eat my omelet with my one free hand, almost done with it when I saw Paul walking over to the house. I took another bite as he sat down next to me,

“I need Carlisle to let you phase already.” He said.

“Good morning to you, too.” I said, finishing chewing my food, “What’s wrong?”

“I need my guard buddy back.” He said, annoyance dripping from every word he spoke.

“Who did you guard with this morning?” I asked, looking over at him. While Leah and I were best friends and joined at the hip most of the time, Paul and I had taken on a sibling role with each other. Everyone in the pack were extremely close with one another, sharing thoughts tended to do that to people, but Paul was definitely most protective over me and I had a soft spot for him.

“Jared. All he could think about was Kim and how he hasn’t seen her since before the fight.” He said, leaning back in the chair and putting his hands over his face, “I know it’s hard to be away from your imprint, but she was safe and sound here on the reservation. They were on the phone all night, so you’d think they would be fine.” 

I wanted to tell him he would understand once he imprinted, and that the only reason I wasn’t going insane without speaking or seeing Jasper for as long as I have is because I’ve been asleep for it all. I decided against it,

“I’m on day five out of seven of no phasing, I believe in you.” I told him, putting my now empty plate on the table. “Then I can start annoying you again, I’ve kind of missed it.” 

“I have, too, but if you start to only talk about your imprint, I will trade shifts and leave you to listen to Jared’s complaining.” He threatened, causing me to start laughing.

“You love me too much to do that and you know it.” I said, him shrugging in response,

“Don’t start rubbing your imprint in my face and I won’t have to. Now, why don’t you and I go spend some time at the beach?” He suggested, standing up, offering me a hand that I accepted.

“Sounds great, but I have to be back around 3 so I can go see Jazz.” I told him. He muttered something under his breath before speaking up,

“I still need to really meet him. You got to meet his family and be intimidated, it’s his turn to face the scary brother and protective best friend.” 

“The pack can terrify him when I can phase again.” I said.

“Why not until you phase again?” He asked. I was a little nervous as I lowly spoke my next sentence,

“In case something happens. There’s not a lot of good odds with a group of werewolves, one vampire, a human if Emily wants to meet him, and a crippled wolf.”

“It’s a law, Laela. Whether we like him or not, we can’t hurt him.” Paul said and I could hear his temper coating his words at being doubted.

“It’s not just us. Jasper still has trouble sometimes and he would be nervous, too. Granted we all smell like wolves and so do most of the people on the reserve, but it’s not something I would feel comfortable taking on like this.” I said, trying to calm him down before he could truly get worked up. I moved to step in front of him so he would actually look down at me, “There would be too many things that would make me nervous. You know you’d feel the same if you couldn’t phase.”  
He took a deep breath and stayed silent for another couple seconds before looking down at me,

“Fine. But the minute you can phase again, we’re all meeting him.”

“That’s completely fine. Now I’m going to go change.” I said, heading upstairs to my room and getting almost completely dressed before letting out an aggravated huff of air. The neck strap on the bathing suit was a clip so I could hook it before putting it on, I just couldn’t do the same for the strap around the back. “Paul!” I said, just loud enough for him to be able to hear. I had the top of my suit around my neck and covering my chest when he walked up to the door.

“What do you need?” He asked.

“I can’t tie my suit one-handed.” I told him before he stepped inside. He walked over and tied the back for me and I slid on a t-shirt after. I grabbed us both two towels and we headed outside.

“So, besides Jacob’s heartbreak annoying you while on guard, what else has been going on?” I asked him. “I feel like it’s been years since I last saw you.”

“I just saw you yesterday.” He reminded me.

“Yes, but we didn’t get to talk at all. We said ‘hey’, you gave me a cinnamon roll, greeted Jazz and I at the lines, and then hugged me while I cried yesterday.” I said.

“I guess you’re right, but once we’re in the water, no talking. I’ve got wet suits and surfboards at the beach for us already.” He told me.

“If I can’t phase, what makes you think I can surf?” I asked him, not understanding what was going through his mind right now.

“People can surf with one hand. Plus, you’re not really going to use it a lot, just to balance use your right arm to swim out.” He said as we approached the beach.

“Paul, I don’t kno-“

“Laela, look, the past week has been stressful for you. You’ve gone from being terrified of vampires, to having to work with them, to imprinting on one and having to deal with the tribe’s reaction to it all, then you fought vampires and were tossed aside like a toy by one, and I know meeting the family wasn’t easy. You need to have fun and the second your arm feels sore, we can stop, okay?” He ranted out, looking down at me with a wetsuit in his hand. I gave in and took the wetsuit from him.

“Fine, but you have to deal with Jasper and Carlisle if I break myself.” I told him, stripping down to my bathing suit and stepping into the wetsuit. Once Paul had put his on, we zipped each other up and picked up the boards. I was careful with my arm and slowly stretched it out, feeling how tense the muscles were from being in one position for so long. Eventually the stiffness wore off, but I still didn’t test raising my arm to far above my shoulder, afraid to hurt it and knowing it would be enough to balance though.

“You ready?” He asked me and I nodded, a smile on my face.

“As I’ll ever be.” I tightened the strap around my ankle and we both made our way into the water.

The waves weren’t that rough for the most part, it made it easy for me to use my arm, and Paul nor I had to quit. We know we attracted a few weird looks, a snowstorm a week ago and we were both in the water like it was nothing, which, for us, it wasn’t. Neither of us talked the whole time unless we were waiting on a wave, and even then, it was just to point out different things about where we thought a wave might be approaching. The day was still therapeutic, though. I felt like I did before the army came around.

“We should probably head back to shore if you want to make it in enough time to meet Jasper.” Paul called out.

“Ride a wave in?” I asked, and he smiled as a response. We waited less than two minutes before a wave started to form, both of us paddling in time to catch it, pushing ourselves up, and riding the wave in. “Thank you.” I told Paul once we were back on shore.

“Don’t mention it. You needed a day out to feel normal again.” He told me, taking my board from me and unzipping my suit. I peeled it off of myself and dried myself off as best I could before throwing on my clothes,

“Do you think I need my sling?” I asked, “I’ve gone all day without it and I’m fine.” Paul looked at me and shrugged,

“Wear it there and see if the Doc says you can take it off.” He said.

“Fair enough.” I said, putting my sling back on.

“Hopefully the doc says you can phase again before I kill whoever I run with next.” He said, causing me to let out a laugh,

“You act like you’re pleasant to run with.” I teased, “You’ve always got something sarcastic to say.”

“You say equally sarcastic shit!” He defended, causing me to laugh even more.

“I do! But that’s not what we were talking about!” 

“Go see your leech before I drop kick you and you can’t phase for another week.” Paul playfully threatened. I gave him a playful glare at calling Jasper a leech.

“See you later.” I told him, giving him a hug before I left and starting to go towards Sam and Emily’s. The excitement was building and I couldn’t wait to see Jasper and tell him the good news about the reservation. I went inside the house long enough to say hello and goodbye to Emily and Sam, grab Grace, and my phone.

"On my way now." Jasper had sent five minutes ago, meaning he was probably two minutes away from the border now. I took off down the reservation, book and phone still in hand, and I made it back to the northern line in less than five minutes where Jasper was already waiting for me. My excitement had set in and, by the smile on his face, I could tell he could feel it already.

“Hello, Cowboy.” I said, keeping my left arm low but wrapping my right arm around his neck and hugging him. He wrapped both arms around me, picking me up slightly as he did so.

“Hello, Little Wolf. What has you so excited?” He asked, setting me down.

“I have some good news, actually huge news. I’m surprised no one has spoiled it, yet.” I told him, my smile never fading from my face. He quirked an eyebrow, 

“What would the news be?”

“Well, there are a few rules about the news and then I can tell you.”

“I can follow rules.” He told me, “It doesn’t seem like you can though because you smell like a wet dog.” He said, grimacing at the smell.

“Oh, shush. Carlisle just said I couldn’t phase, he didn’t say I couldn’t surf with Paul.”

“You went surfing?” He asked in disbelief.

“Jazz, I’m fine, I would’ve stopped as soon as I felt even somewhat sore. You’re distracting me from telling you the rules and then the news!” I said, taking his hand in mine.

“Fine. What are the rules to the news I don’t know yet?”  
“Okay, you’re the only one who is allowed, I have to walk you over, and you can’t go anywhere without me.” His eyebrows furrowed in confusion as he took in my excitement,

“What do you mean, Laela?”

“Apparently, Carlisle, Esme, Sam, and Billy have been meeting up over the past couple days trying to figure out ways for us to have a little bit more ease in the situation.” I told him, purposely dragging it out a little bit.

“Are you telling me what I think you are?” He asked, his own smile on his face.

“They talked out a point in the treaty where you’re allowed on the reservation as long as you’re with me!” I said.

“You’re kidding!” He said, picking me up again and hugging me.

“I’m not, but as soon as I’m able to phase again the pack wants to meet you for your first time on the reservation.” I told him. He shrugged,

“The werewolf got to meet the vampires, I suppose it was bound to have to happen the other way around.”

“You’re really calm about all of this, are you okay?” I asked, expecting him to be more nervous about having to meet everyone.

“You walked into a coven of vampires yesterday, who have no laws about not harming you, and you’re confused about me not being worried at meeting the pack when there’s a law about not harming me.” He said, “Oh you’re adorable.”

“Shut up, I’m nervous. They’re my family now and they’re not too keen on your kind. This means a lot to me.” I told him, looking up at him with a slight pout. Jasper wrapped his arms around me, hugging me tightly, but being sure to not hurt my shoulder.

“I know it means a lot to you, and I’ll be on my best behavior. Everyone has gone through a lot to help us out and I’m not going to ruin that and risk losing you.” He said, resting his head on top of mine.

“Thank you, Jazz.” I told him, feeling some of my nervousness melt away already.

“Anything for you, Little Wolf. Now, why don’t we head to my place and you can yell at me for Grace?” He said. I nodded against his chest,

“And you’re going to get a damn earful for it, too!” I told him, getting in the car and him getting in the car in the same instant. My reaction only caused him to laugh, “Mountain lions have nothing on the rage of a wolf.” I warned, only causing him to laugh harder and start the car in the same instant, sending us flying down the road just a short second later.

“Go ahead and let it out! I have to yell at you for surfing afterward.” He said, a fair trade in his opinion.

“Okay, what have I done to you to deserve this kind of pain?!” I started, the same smug smile on his face as he took my hand, feeling I wasn’t angry at him, more so the book than anything else. “I was actually sobbing, full on hysteria, I’m surprised I didn’t wake Sam and Emily! Hell, ask Alice, she’ll tell you how bad I was crying! The book was so promising I figured she really did get out, but no, you couldn’t have given me a warning not to get too attached?” I said, my rant over with.

“Because if I told you not to get attached you wouldn’t have enjoyed the book as much as you did. Admit it, even though it was painful, you’re going to reread it eventually.” He said, confidently. He knew I would, both of us knew he was right.

“You’re not wrong.” I grumbled.

“Good, now I get to yell at you.”

“Go ahead.” I said, knowing that he wouldn’t go too far and probably wouldn’t raise his voice to a yell.

“Surfing with a bad shoulder, really? I was trusting that you wouldn’t break yourself more in the time it took me to hunt. What if something happened to you and you weren’t able to phase for another week? You’d go insane!” Jasper said, looking over me. “Reckless wolf, that’s what you are.” I was right. His voice never rose over a normal speaking level and I could tell he wasn’t truly mad at me, more concerned than anything. The air around us vibrated with it.

“I’m not some breakable human, Jazz. My shoulder and Jake’s ribs should take months to heal but both of us will be back on our feet in a couple more days. I would’ve stopped the moment I thought I was pushing it or felt sore, and I was careful not to raise my arm too high to keep from straining it even more.” I said, not paying attention as the car slowed down as we approached his garage.

“Let’s see what Carlisle thinks.” He told me, stepping out of the car and coming to my side before I could blink to help me out of the car.

“Let’s. I’m trying to see if I can phase any earlier. He might have underestimated just how fast we heal and I might be phasing tomorrow.” I said, smirking at the look on his face. He’d expected me to be nervous about telling the doctor of my “reckless” behavior, but I wasn’t worried at all.

I walked ahead of him until we reached the door, letting him step inside first and taking his hand. The overwhelming smell of their house hit me once again, causing my throat to burn. Sensing my discomfort, Jasper pulled me into his side, trying to surround me with the smell of him and it helped. My throat and nose still burned but it wasn’t nearly as bad.

“Carlisle, you’ve got yourself a little daredevil.” Jasper called and in an instant, Carlisle was in front of us.

“First Bella, now you.” He said, teasingly as he looked down at me. “I do have to tend to my patients at the hospital, too.” He continued.

“It wasn’t even that bad, it’s not like I phased.” I told him, looking up at Jasper with a displeased look then back at Carlisle, “He’s making it out to be worse than what it is.”

“You went surfing with a bad shoulder and I doubt very seriously you kept your sling on the entire time.” He ridiculed, looking from me to Carlisle.

“For all we know, I could be healed now. There’s no science to how fast I heal.” I pointed out.

“She’s right, Jasper. We don’t truly know how long it will take her to heal, and she knows her body better than the two of us. I trust you would’ve stopped when it started hurting?” Carlisle asked me, to which I nodded.

“I would’ve, but I was careful not to use it more than I absolutely had to and it never was sore.” I said.

“Then let’s go check, your shoulder could be closer to healing than we thought.” He said, walking up to his office, same as yesterday, Jasper and I followed behind him and up the stairs. I sat down in the same spot I did yesterday and removed my sling. I was in the tank top I had brought to the beach earlier so today I didn’t have to lift the shirt. He picked up my arm, “Tell me when to stop.” He said.

He rose my arm up and I expected the pain the start when he came in line with my shoulder, but it didn’t. I was able to lift my arm straight up before the pain started.

“There.” I said. He moved to examine my shoulder and then my collar bone, after a minute or two he finally spoke.

“I think you’re completely healed. The soreness you’re feeling is from not being able to use the muscles very much. Once you phase and re-stretch the muscles, you’ll feel better and probably back to normal.” He told me, and I gave an ‘I told you so’ look to Jasper, causing him to laugh at the joy, my joy, that suddenly filled the room.

“If you’re able to phase again, I believe you owe Emmett a fight.” He said.

“Hell yeah, she does!” I heard from downstairs. Both Jasper and I laughed at his excitement.

“I’m begging you, for Esme’s sake, not too close to the house.” Carlisle told me, the same light and comforting smile on his face.

“Oh no, we’re going past the lake so we can really get into it.” Emmett said, now standing in the doorway. Jasper let out a warning growl at Emmett’s comment.

“If you leave a scratch on her that will take more than her usual half a minute to heal, you will regret it.” Jasper told him. It wasn’t a warning, it was a promise. I stood up from Carlisle’s desk, glad to have a full range of motion in my arm again. I was able to wrap an arm around Jasper and place one on his chest.

“I’ll be fine, it’s not like he’s going to throw me full force into a rock. Plus, I think Emmett’s been exaggerating at just how strong he is.” I said, looking from Jasper to Emmett. “It’ll be fun, and if things go too far, you’ll be able to sense that one of us isn’t having fun anymore.”

“Carlisle?” Jasper asked, practically begging him to come up with some reason why I couldn’t do it.

“If she feels up to it, she can do it. She should stop the minute she feels pain that’s more than just soreness from using the muscle.” He told Jasper, Emmett and I both grinning at each other.

“Come on, little sis. I’ll show you where, if you can keep up.” Emmett said, only causing me to be more excited.

“Let me shift first, I don’t feel like walking home naked because I shredded my clothes.” I said. The next second and Emmett was outside, waiting on me. Jasper and I walked out of Carlisle’s office and I could feel that he still wasn’t too keen on the idea, but I had an idea that might make him a little less objected to the idea. We passed by the living room and I took hold of Jasper’s hand, pulling him with me.

“Alice?” I asked, and she turned to look up at me.

“I’d love to. You don’t even have to ask.” She said, standing up and walking over to Jasper and me. Jasper looked down at her, then at me, clearly confused. “I’m going to be a mediator. I’m the only one who will be fair and I’ll be able to stop it if one of their decisions causes real harm.”

He still didn’t look too onboard with the whole idea, but he finally nodded.

“Thank you!” I said. “Where’s a bathroom with a window?” I asked, causing both Alice and Jasper to give me a weird look, but Alice showed me nonetheless, laughing as she walked away and realized what I had planned.

I stripped down, tying the clothes to myself before opening the window and positioning myself on the ledge. None of the family waiting outside could see me and I jumped out as far as I could, phasing before I could hit the ground. I could feel the stretch of every muscle in my body, but I welcomed it. The biggest sign that I was from a different area, while I was still Quileute like the rest of the pack, was that my fur didn’t resemble the rest of the packs. They were all colors that made it easy to blend into the forests they grew up around. My sister’s coat used to be mostly white, with just enough hints of blue on top of her so she could blend in with the snow and her back looked like it was part of the sky. My coat was spotted and started out as white, grey, and the same blue my sister had, though as I ran more and lived more in forests, the colors changed and I was now grey with hints of red and tan spotted where the blue and white used to be. 

'Welcome back, Laela.' I was greeted with the sound of Seth’s thoughts.

'Feels nice to be back, but don’t distract me.' I told him, the memory of Emmett and I’s agreement to play fight running through my mind.

'Better not hurt yourself, something tells me Sam and Paul won’t take too well to you being hurt again.' He warned.

'I know, Jasper’s not too pleased, either, but I’ve got Alice to referee so nothing bad should happen.' I reassured.

'Have fun with that, Laela and watch your back.' He said before I started to tune him out. It wasn’t hard and his voice was gone before I walked around the house. It was no longer just Jasper, Alice, and Emmett outside, but Rosalie had joined, too. I made my way over to Jasper, nudging him with my snout and welcoming the feeling of him automatically starting to run his hands through my fur. 

“Are you ready, Laela?” Emmett asked, a wide grin on his face that told me he was way too cocky. I responded as well as I could by letting out a small growl, nothing intimidating, and barking a little bit. “Try and keep up, okay?” He said, then darted off into the forest.

Had I been human, there would’ve been no way I could’ve kept up or even seen him running, but I was off the second after he was, the rest of the family following behind. He was easy to keep up with, his strength being far more of a help than his speed. I was at his side in a matter of seconds and then Jasper was beside him. Emmett let out a laugh and pushed himself even harder, gaining on me for just a moment before I was next to him again. It was the sudden stop that caught me off guard, causing me to have to turn around to face him as my claws shredded the earth below me, eventually stopping myself. We were in a clearing similar to the one the fight happened at, except this one was much smaller. It was just enough for Emmett and me to fight in while the rest kept a safe distance.

“She’s quicker than I thought, I’ll give her that.” Emmett said. His arm was around Rosalie and Jasper smiled at me.

“Shouldn’t have doubted her in the first place.” He said smugly, walking over to where I was. In human form, he had a good foot on me height wise, but right now, I was about a head taller than him. “You sure you’re up to this?” He asked, his smirk dropping and turn to a face of no-nonsense, similar to how he looked when we were training.

I let out an annoyed huff, tired of being doubted, and put my head on his shoulder. I kept it there for a couple seconds, long enough to be able to feel the happiness radiating off of him, before gently pushing his shoulder and walking around him to the middle of the clearing. I barked at Emmett, excited when he finally walked over to me.

“There are rules,” Alice said, stepping beside Emmett and me, “no biting from either side as we’d prefer not to have to reattach Emmett’s arm at the end of this and venom is lethal to wolves. You have to stay in the clearing, if you move into the woods, you lose. Laela, you’re to stop the minute your shoulder starts hurting. Best three out of five.” She said, enjoying being the referee too much. “Three!” She said, clear as a bell.

Emmett and I both crouched down.

“Two!” Alice called again.

I gave Emmett a playful growl which he returned.

“One!” Alice said and ran back to Jasper and Rosalie’s side. I had seen Emmett’s fighting style during training. He was direct and went for obvious attacks, never truly thinking through his next move and relying more on surprise than anything. I tried remembering what Jasper had said about newborns; never go for the obvious attack and don’t let them get their arms around you.

Emmett was the first to move, going for the obvious attack and lunging right for me. I moved out of the way quickly, jumping over him and landing behind him. He took half a second to think about his next attack, but it was still obvious. He ran straight towards me, jumping in the air to try and land on top of me. I met him halfway, jumping up and pinning him to the ground under one paw. It wasn’t enough to hurt him, just enough that he knew he had lost this round.

“Laela, one. Emmett, zero.” Alice called and I took my paw off of Emmett. A low growl came from Rosalie while Jasper had his arms crossed over his chest, a proud smile on his face.

“Again!” Emmett shouted, going to where I had been standing before.

Alice counted down again and I didn’t wait on Emmett to make the first move. I lunged toward him, him going to meet me halfway, only for me to change course right before he reached me and I stepped to the right of him. He landed on the ground, facing me, a smirk on his face as if he had expected me to sidestep him. I ran towards him again, this time he jumped at the last second, landing on my back for less than two seconds before I rolled over and he was off of me. I turned to face him but he was gone. Suddenly he had his arms around my midsection and had me on the ground. This time it was Jasper who growled, even though he knew I wasn’t hurt the second Emmett was off of me. I stood upright as Alice appeared beside us.

“Laela, one. Emmett, one,” She said. We traded places again and I was able to see Jasper out of the corner of my eye. I made no move to look directly at him, but even I could see he was trying to figure out a way for me to win.

“Three! Two! One!” Alice said.

I crouched down, waiting on Emmett to make the first move, to no one’s surprise, he tried going for the obvious run right towards me. I waited until it was almost too late before, once again, jumping over him. I wasted no time and ran towards him before he could turn around. Cheap shot? Maybe. But by the time he turned around, I was already in front of him and lunging, once again pinning him beneath me with one paw.

“That’s my Little Wolf.” I heard Jasper say as I stepped off of Emmett, pride radiating over all of us because of him.

Pride was my downfall on the next round, as it is most people’s, I got cocky and Emmett was able to take me down easily. Edward and Bella joined just in time to see it, too, only leading Emmett to seem even cockier.

“Laela, two. Emmett, two.” Alice said, stepping between us and looking at both of us, “Final round. Whoever wins has bragging rights.” She said, then looked to me, “It’s in your best interest to win or else you’ll never hear the end of it for the rest of both of your very long lives.” I let out a huff of air and nodded.

“She’s going down.” Emmett said, grinning widely.

“Three! Two!” Alice purposely paused before saying the final number, smirking and stepping away. “One!” She finally said.

Both Emmett and I took our time, trying to measure each other out before attacking and letting an easy win come to the other. I tried to put myself in Jasper’s head, tried to figure out the way he would go about the situation. I stood up straight, letting it seem as though I wasn’t as defensive as I was. I could hear the disapproval from Jasper,

“Laela…” Jasper said, low enough that only one of his kind or my kind could’ve heard, but it was enough to say he didn’t understand what I was doing.

“She’s got this.” I heard Edward murmur, chuckling to himself as he saw my plan play out in my head.

I tried my best to ignore their chatter, but it was the half a second distraction Emmett needed to run at me. I met him head on, literally, and as soon as he went to collide with me, I ducked my head and whipped my head to the side, sending him to the side and sliding on his back. It was just enough for me to regain my balance and lunge towards him. This time, he sent me flying, using his legs to send me soaring through the air. I landed with a thud, still inside the clearing, but it was enough to disorientate me. Emmett took this as his sign of victory and immediately started celebrating. I stood up and began walking over to Emmett as quietly as I could, more than glad that multiple members of my pack had pointed out that I was quieter than most wolves. I saw both Alice and Edward smirking and knew that my idea would work.

“Emmett-“ Jasper started, seeming angry.

“Oh don’t worry, she’s fine. I didn’t throw her that hard.” He said, beginning to walk over to Rosalie.

“I know she’s not hurt, I’m just disappointed that you laughed when I told Edward never to turn his back on his enemy, yet you’ve made the same mistake.” He said, his face changing to a smirk as I stalked closer to Emmett.

“What are you talking about?” He said, turning around right as I lunged for him, pinning him to the ground once again.

“Final count: Laela, three. Emmett, two!” Alice called out and I stepped off of Emmett, quickly dashing into the forest and phasing then getting redressed before joining them in the clearing. I held back my laughter until I saw Emmett’s irritated face,

“I told you I could take you!” I said, smiling widely.

“Wanna go one more round?” He asked, easily up for another challenge.

“Nope! Alice said three out of five and I won fair in square.” I said back, walking over to Jasper whose arm was over my shoulder as soon as it could be and my arm was around his waist.

“Alice, how does that count?” Emmett asked, looking over at him.

“You never had her pinned.” Alice said simply to which Emmett let out a loud groan of frustration.

“Wow, Emmett, can’t even stand to lose once.” Bella spoke up, a smile on her face as she teased him.

“He’s just mad that he didn’t beat Laela to the clearing. That was a tie.” Alice said from beside Bella.

“Bet I’d win on the way back.” He said to me, causing me to scowl at him as I felt my temper start to rise.

“I wouldn’t, Emmett. She’s riled up from the fight and the most lethal of all of us as soon as she shifts.” Jasper said, but it was too late and my mind was made up.

“The only reason you won this time was that I didn’t know where we were going and couldn’t run past you.” I defended myself.

“I’m sure.” Emmett said, sarcastically. I knew he was just trying to get under my skin, and it was working. Jasper let out another low warning growl,

“Emmett. The reason wolves awaken is because of us. They’re bred to be faster than our species.” Jasper said. I could tell he was just trying to keep me from pushing myself too far in one day and I knew if I continued it would only make him mad.

“He’s right, Emmett. Plus, I don’t want to push myself too far on the first day back. I’m sure they’d actually like for me to be able to go back in the pack sometime sooner rather than later.” I said, hoping Emmett would take it.

“If that’s the reason, then how are you getting back?” He asked, a smirk on his face as though he just won the argument. Before I could defend myself and explain to him how we could still run faster than humans in our human form, Jasper had come up with another response.

“Simple.” He said, picking me up and putting me on his back in one quick motion, causing me to giggle a little bit. “Same way Edward will get Bella back.”  
I smiled as Emmett finally stopped trying to argue with him and rested my head on Jasper’s shoulder,

“I told you I would be fine.” I said so only he could hear, “You’ve gotta have more faith in me, Cowboy.”

“You did make me wonder on that last move, but you had it all figured out, didn’t you?” He asked, looking at me with a smile on his face. I nodded, unable to reply.

My breath hitched in my throat as he was mere centimeters from my face yet neither one of us made any move. I didn’t want to be the first one to make the move, not wanting to cross any lines and have him mad at me. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Edward laugh and roll his eyes.

“Come on, it’s not going to storm so we can’t play ball and I’m tired of standing here if we aren’t going to do anything.” Rosalie said, “Plus, I’d like to talk to Laela before she has to be back on the reservation.” She and Emmett were gone after she said that.

I looked at Jasper, who was looking at Edward. Edward had a small smile on his face and shook his head.

“It’s nothing bad.” He said, picking up Bella so she was on Edward’s back, and soon they were gone.

“Alice?” I asked, hoping she would tell me what it’s about.

“Nope, Rose can tell you.” She said.

“That’s comforting.” I muttered, burying my head into Jasper’s shoulder as he and Alice began running.


End file.
